


Bugle Boys

by ElleRen31



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 'Parent Trap' (1998) Elements, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Don't ask why First Order characters work for Luke, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Mention of abuse to a woman and a child, Pranks, Reylo - Freeform, Summer Camp, Writing Den Summer 2020 Exchange, the smut has arrived
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:41:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElleRen31/pseuds/ElleRen31
Summary: 'ISO Counselor for all boys summer camp. Must have experience with childhood development and behavioral disorders. Must have excellent leadership and communication skills. Must be comfortable with the outdoors. Must be CPR certified. Lodging and meals provided on site. Serious inquires only.'When Rey Johnson applies for a summer job as a camp counselor, she's not exactly who her new boss was expecting. Neither was his nephew Ben Solo, a fellow camp counselor, who is not at all happy that she is here. Maybe that's why he can't stop staring at her?Plenty of summer camp shenanigans with a chance of smut ;)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo
Comments: 30
Kudos: 90
Collections: Summer Fic Exchange 2020





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LostintheMaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostintheMaze/gifts).



Prompt: Summer camp AU - Ben and Rey are both camp counselors for the summer.

^^^^^

For Sophie

^^^^^

_Wanted: Summer Camp Counselor_

 _ISO Counselor for all boys summer camp. Must have experience with childhood development and behavioral disorders. Must have excellent leadership and communication skills. Must be comfortable with the outdoors. Must be CPR certified. Lodging and meals provided on site. Serious inquires only. Send resumes to Luke at_ skywalkerred5@ymail.com.

“Serious inquires only, hmmm?”

If she was being honest, the job listing had her at the words ‘meals provided on site’. Rey Johnson was never one to turn down free meals. After growing up in the derelict desert city of Jakku amidst their sad excuse of a foster care system, Rey knew what it was like to go hungry. She also continued to know the struggle of hunger once she entered college in the neighboring city of Corellia, pursuing her dream of becoming a social worker. It was hard enough to both work AND go to school full time, but somehow she managed over the last several years to work her way to the top of her class. And now she was just one semester away from graduating.

However - she needed to complete a summer internship before that could even happen.

Which is how she found herself scrolling through various job postings on an ancient computer in the depths of the college library. Many of the listings had been posted months ago back in the beginning of spring, which meant her chances at securing one of those positions this late in the school year was practically slim to none. A lot of the postings consisted of office work, shadowing other social workers and assisting with file sorting.

As she scrolled further down the available listings, she kept finding herself scrolling back up the page to stare at the newest listing about the camp counselor. She checked the date of the listing again. It had been posted only twelve hours ago with the position due to start just two weeks after the semesters end. She chews her lip in thought while tapping her sandaled foot underneath the old wooden desk as she considers her options. While an in office internship would be closer to what she would actually be doing post graduation, working one on one with children was why she chose to get into the field of social work to begin with. Her stomach grumbles loudly as she rereads the description of the listing. She looks down at her stomach with a small sigh before squeezing her eyes shut in a silent wish before opening a new tab on the internet browser and beginning to compile her resume.

It wasn’t long before she hears back from the mysterious Luke of skywalkerred5@ymail.com. Luke Skywalker introduces himself as the director of the Padawan Scouts, a camp open to young boys from the ages of eight to eleven. The Padawan Scouts are proudly and specifically known for their work with children who have behavioral issues such as anger management, anxiety, or ADHD. Their camp is located at the base of the Yavin mountains, an area once inhabited by the native Ahch-To Tribe, a tribe Luke is very educated on. In his emails Luke not only gave her a brief history of the tribe, but he went so far as to explain the basis behind the camp name (Padawan is the Ahch-To word for ‘youngling’ or ‘children’) as well as the camp mascot (a sadly extinct species of quail the Ahch-To called a ‘Porg’). Perhaps if he wasn’t a running a boys camp, Luke would do very well teaching a Native American studies course at a university.

Luke explains in his email that the campsite itself doesn’t have reliable cellphone reception so high in the mountains so he and Rey correspond back and forth via emails he sends from an internet café (‘those still exist?’ Rey thought to herself) in the small town located just miles south of the camp. Luke tells her she is the most qualified candidate out of the meager number of responses he had received due to the unique nature of the camp, a compliment that she quickly took to heart. Then he said if she was willing to make the trip out to the mountains the week before the camp was due to start, they could meet for an official interview. She of course responded to his email with a resounding ‘yes’.

When the time comes she takes off on her vintage rusted red Indian motorcycle up through the winding curves of the mountain pass, admiring how the steel grey of the city seemed to blend seamlessly into what appeared to be endless miles of green forest. The trees that lined the roads seemed to grower bigger and bigger the higher she went up. Halfway there she passes through the sleepy tourist town of Praxeum, no doubt home to the café Luke had previously mentioned. It was a quaint town with very few buildings, mostly there to cater to those who were camping or spending the day at the popular Lake Skellig nearby.

The paved path became rougher the further she rode out past Praxeum. She rides on for miles, only slowing once she spies a grand wooden arch in the distance. The trees have begun to thin a bit here, revealing a large dirt road winding up and around the mountain. She turns off the road and onto the dirt path, soon driving underneath the arch and a painted wood sign declaring the words ‘Padawan Scouts’ in fading white letters.

She pulls her bike up to the stone steps that led towards a handsome stone cabin at the top of a grassy hill and parks it. Dirt and gravel crunches underfoot as she dismounts and removes her helmet before setting it down on the seat of the bike. She briefly glances around at her surroundings. It’s peaceful up here, with a grand view of Lake Skellig below. She smiles to herself before beginning to make her way up the stone steps. About halfway up, an older man steps out of the cabin and proceeds to scrutinize her as she approaches.

“Can I help you?” He asks her as she reaches the top of the steps. The man has greying hair and a somewhat unkempt beard. The brown tee shirt he wears has a faded logo on it and his jeans have mud splattered on the hem. He holds a clipboard in an awkwardly stiff hand and wears a frayed lanyard around his neck from which a silver whistle dangles. “The rental cabins for the public are on the other side of the lake.” He says in a bored tone, as if this was a common mistake.

“I’m not here to rent a cabin. I’m here to see a Luke Skywalker?”

The man raises an eyebrow at her. “I’m Luke Skywalker.” He replies slowly.

Rey grins and sticks out her hand for an introductory handshake. “I’m Rey.” She says cheerfully.

Luke stares at her outstretched hand but does not take it. Rey’s smile fades to a frown just as Luke’s bright blue eyes begin to crinkle at the edges and his shoulders begin to shake with the beginnings of a laugh. Rey lowers her hand and stands there confused as to what Luke could find so humorous about her as his hearty laugh finally subsides.

“Forgive me!” Luke says, catching his breath. “It’s just… You’re not exactly who I was expecting.” He says to her with an amused grin. He extends a hand and makes an ushering motion towards her as he holds open the door to the cabin. “Well, come on then. I’ll explain everything inside.”

^^^^^

Ben Solo could probably drive the roads of the Yavin Mountains with his eyes closed.

Of course he didn’t always drive there. He’s been going to his Uncle’s camp ever since he was a little kid. Once he outgrew the Padawan Scouts program, his Uncle recruited him to help out there as a summer job. As the camp grew over the years so did his responsibilities. Now in his late twenties, Ben had been a counselor for the past seven summers.

Growing up Ben always felt different. He was quiet. Withdrawn. Angry. He broke a kids nose in the first grade for teasing him about his larger than average ears. His hair has covered them up ever since. His mother, his Uncle’s twin sister, didn’t hesitate to send him to the Padawan Scouts. In fact, she was convinced that Luke started the camp with Ben in mind. With the Padawan Scouts, Ben learned to manage his anger through both meditation as well as being involved with the various activities the camp had to offer. Keeping busy was good at keeping the negative emotions at bay, but hiking and kayaking could only go so far. He still was quiet. He still was withdrawn. He was still angry. He went to the gym to work out his frustrations and it definitely showed. In the end he could manage all that better now, which is why he continued to work with his Uncle. Though ultimately it was the chance work with kids like him that kept him coming back year after year.

The wind whips at his black hair as he takes another sharp curve of the mountain pass, driving through the telltale arch of the scout camp. Dust and dirt kicks up around him as he drives past the row of cabins and up the hill towards the main building of the camp. Ben pulls his Jeep up alongside a SUV with its trunk open. A red haired young man is rummaging in the trunk, seemingly hell-bent on unloading as much as he can at once. He has a duffel slung over one shoulder and another bag lies in the gravel at his feet.

“About time you got here.” The ginger snaps at Ben as he exits his vehicle. Armitage Hux was one of the other camp counselors with the Padawan Scouts. It never ceases to amaze him why a stick in the mud such as Hux would want to work with children for a whole summer. Hux comes across as strict and stern, having perfected the permanent look of RBF - resting bastard face in this case. Despite his rather cold demeanor, it was a wonder what a firm presence could do with some of the more unruly campers. Deep down he was a kind man and although he’d never admit it, he was probably one of Ben’s closest friends.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you were waiting on me.” Ben retorts sarcastically as he moves around to the back of his vehicle to grab a heavily packed bag. “Besides, the campers won’t arrive for another two hours. We’ve got plenty of time to unpack.”

Hux snorts as he reaches up to grab the edge of his cars trunk before slamming it shut. “I think you’re forgetting that your Uncle wanted us to have time to meet the new counselor before the kids arrive.” He says as he grabs his third duffel off the ground. He grunts slightly over all the weight he’s carrying. “I still can’t believe Dameron quit.”

Ben shrugs as he slings a field pack over his shoulder. “I’m not all that surprised, honestly. Poe was always flighty to begin with.”

Poe Dameron had been the third camp counselor for the Padawan Scouts over the last five years, up until recently when he had decided to quit in order to pursue a PhD in child psychology.

“Well, let’s hope whoever your Uncle hired at least has the decency to not sleep nude. That’s one thing for sure that I won’t miss about Dameron.” Hux scoffs as they both made their way down the hill towards the cabins. 

As they unpacked their clothes and countless bottles of sunscreen and bug repellent, Ben thought that it was a little odd that the counselors cabin was devoid of the third counselors belongings. Then again, he didn’t even know if they were even here yet or not. The only cars up that he had seen at the top of the hill where they parked were that of his uncle and the old wooden paneled van used by the camp cook.

Once they were finished unpacking, Hux turns his wrist to glace at his watch. “Guess we better head up to the mess hall.” He says to Ben.

Luke is walking down the stone steps from the main cabin as Ben and Hux approach from the direction of the cabins. “Ah! I was just coming to greet you.” Luke says with a grin, holding his arms out at his sides in a welcoming gesture.

“Hey Uncle Luke.” Ben mumbles while Hux just nods his head at Luke.

“You guys all unpacked? Bring enough clothes to hold you over?” Luke asks.

“Everything except the kitchen sink.” Hux lamely jokes with a straight face.

Luke chuckles at this. “Let’s hope we don’t need a kitchen sink this year. Klaud is convinced the one we’ve got is on its last legs, but I think he just doesn’t want to clean out the garbage disposal anymore.” Luke turns and smiles up at the large stone cabin before looking back at Ben and Hux and clapping his hands together.

“I hope you’re both ready for a busy summer.” He tells them. “I’ve got all the typical activities on the schedule this year. Threw some new ones in there for the returning campers, of course. But first!” Luke holds up an index finger. “There’s a few changes we need to address. For starters, the isolation cabin won’t be available for use this year.”

Hux snorts a laugh. “Did the termites finally take it out? Good riddance.” He huffs, crossing his arms.

“Not exactly.” Luke says, offering a sly smirk. “That brings me to the next order of business. As you know we’ve got a new counselor with us this year, and I-”

“Master Skywalker!” calls a high pitched voice from up at the top of the steps.

Hux straightens sharply as a tall and skinny kid in tiny khaki shorts and a pair of brand new hiking boots proceeds down the steps, arms full of multiple clipboards.

“Master Skywalker, I’ve got the schedules for you!”

“Ah! Perfect timing!” Luke grins at the newcomer, reaching out to receive the clipboard currently being handed to him. “Ben. Armitage. I’d like you to meet our new camp counselor, Rey Johnson.”

It takes Ben all of his self control not to whip his sunglasses angrily off his face. The kid isn’t a kid at all. It’s even worse.

It’s a GIRL.

She practically beams at the two of them as she hugs the remaining clipboards against her breasts. They may be small but they were _definitely_ breasts. Her brown hair is pulled up into an odd style of three buns. Her skin is tan and glowing from the sheen of the sunscreen she has applied. The evergreen color of the Padawan Scouts logo shirt she wears compliments her bright hazel eyes.

“It’s so great to meet you!” Rey says as she grabs one of the clipboards in her arms and holds it out for either Ben or Hux to take.

Hux flounders for words next to him. Ben stands stock still, fuming internally, his jaw tightening and his lips pursing in displeasure.

“Rey, why don’t you make a last minute check on the cabins before the campers arrive?” Luke asks, sensing the tension in the air and in need of a distraction.

“Oh. Right!” Rey says, blinking confused a few times before handing Luke the clipboards. She trots down the hill towards the cabins, the buns on the back of her head bouncing almost jauntily with each step she takes.

“What. The. Hell.” Ben growls to his Uncle once she is out of earshot.

Luke sighs. “I’ll explain up at the mess hall.”

^^^^^

Ben paces with the ferocity of a caged animal while Hux sits at one of the cafeteria tables, his arms folded and resting on the tabletop.

“Now I realize this is bit of a shock-” Luke begins.

“You’re damn right it is!” Ben barks.

“What good is a woman at an all boys camp?” Hux adds. “Are we going to have them making macaroni necklaces and friendship bracelets this year?”

“I daresay you will find that she is highly qualified-”

“But _she_ is a _woman_!” Ben interrupts once more. “You’ve ran this camp for over twenty five years and you’ve only hired _men_! This is a _boys only camp_!”

“Now, I will admit I was surprised as well.” Luke replies firmly, his eyes slightly narrowing. “I was under the impression I was corresponding with a male candidate, judging by the name. It wasn’t until she arrived for the interview that I realized I hadn’t been exactly clear with the job posting.”

“So you shouldn’t have hired her!” Ben yells, throwing his hands up in frustration.

“What about the parents?” Hux asks. “Are they aware they will have a female counselor on site?”

“I already contacted the parents and they were all incredibly supportive of the idea. Additionally, Ms. Johnson will be residing in the isolation cabin so there is no need for anyone to be uncomfortable with the prospect of sharing sleeping quarters.” 

“This is ridiculous.” Ben snaps.

Luke just shakes his head at his nephew. “It’s 2020, Ben. The world is changing and I too must change with it. People have been fighting for equality for years. What kind of leader would I be to our Padawans if I don’t support the same values that I teach to them? Or have you forgotten the code of the Padawan Scouts?”

Ben frowns and crosses his arms grumpily in response, glaring at his Uncle.

“Besides.” Luke adds. “I think it would do the boys some good to have a motherly presence around the camp, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh yes.” Hux replies sarcastically. “Someone to kiss their boo-boos all better, that will _certainly_ help teach them how to be independent young men.”

Luke frowns and is about to reply when an alarm on his watch goes off. He looks down at his wrist. “The campers will be here shortly. Now I don’t want to hear anymore fuss about Ms. Johnson, are we clear?”

“Yes Master Skywalker.” Hux grumbles. Ben remains silent.

“Ben?” Luke inquires, waiting pointedly for his response.

“Fine. Whatever.” Ben says.

“Good. Now take your clipboards and head out to greet the bus.”

^^^^^

Ben, Hux, and Rey are all lined up outside at the bottom of the stone steps. Ben and Hux have changed into their green Padawan Scouts tee shirts. Rey bobs excitedly as Luke passes out different colored lanyards with whistles to each of the counselors.

“Ben, you’ve got the Blue team this year.” Luke says, handing Ben his lanyard. “Armitage, you get the Red team. And Rey, you get the Yellow team. Now if you look at your clipboards you will see you have a roll call of the six campers assigned to your supervision. Counselors are in charge of making sure their campers are up in the morning and ready for breakfast at 8 am as well as in bed by 9 pm. Lunch is everyday at 1 pm, dinner at 6pm. Any questions?”

“No Master Skywalker.” The counselors respond in unison, Rey’s response the most enthusiastic one of the group.

A horn honks as a large white bus rounds the corner at the bottom of the hill. The horn honks again as the bus passes under the wooden arch and the Padawan Scouts sign. Some of the campers have their faces pressed against the windows of the bus, staring excitedly as the bus pulls to a stop just outside of where the counselors are standing. A skinny young man with sandy blonde hair and tired eyes exit’s the bus first. He’s wearing a matching Padawan Scouts shirt and lanyard. Rey realizes this must be Dopheld Mitaka, Luke’s assistant. Luke described Mitaka to Rey as his ‘left-hand man’, a joking reference to the fact that Luke’s left hand was prosthetic.

“All right Scouts! Please disembark in an orderly fashion!” Mitaka calls to the campers.

The campers definitely don’t disembark in an orderly fashion. The boys rambunctiously scramble off the bus with shouted goodbyes to Chewie, the man who drives the camp bus who has a beard as long as his hippie length hair.

“Welcome Padawans!” Luke greets.

“Good morning Scout Master Skywalker!” Some of the campers reply. Others, most likely first time campers, remain silent and look around cautiously at the surrounding wilderness.

“When your name is called, please line up in front of your assigned counselor.” Luke instructs the campers. There are some mild whispers and curious looks thrown Reys way, but these are nothing compared the glares being cast at her by the other counselors.

“Bailey Bates?”

“Here Master Skywalker!” Cries out a boy with a orange hair and rounded face, waving to get Luke’s attention.

“Bailey, you’re on Team Yellow this year.”

Bailey pumps his arm in a not very subtle celebration, some of his fellow campers snickering. Ben’s stony gaze follows Bailey from behind his reflective sunglasses as he walks up to Rey, his chest puffed out.

“Hi Bailey! My name is Rey! I’ll be your counselor this summer!”

“Hiyah, Master Rey! You can call me B.B. if you’d like.” Bailey says happily, giving Rey a salute. Rey giggles at this, a smile lighting up her face, a dimple splitting her cheek.

“Master Ben, are you listening?” Luke suddenly snaps at his nephew.

“Hmmm?” Ben’s head snaps away from where he had been staring at Rey and B.B.

Luke nods his head to the nervous child standing in front of him. While he had been distracted, Luke had called up the first member of his cabin. “Master Ben, this is Ty.” Luke says, indicating the nervous boy.

“Hello Ty. I’m Ben and I’m your counselor.” Ben says in a very bored and rushed manner.

“Hi.” Ty practically whispers.

The roll call continues until all eighteen boys have been assigned their counselors and cabin mates. All members of Rey’s cabin seem to be bubbling over with excitement including veteran camper Easton, a usually reserved 9 year old that both Ben and Hux had under their supervision in summers past.

Luke blows the whistle hanging from his neck and the Scouts snap to attention. “Lunch is being served in the mess hall! When lunch is over we’ve got our first activity planned.”

“I hope it’s s’mores!” One kid shouts as they begin racing up the steps towards the mess hall.

“It’s not gonna be s’mores, you moof! We have those at night!”

“Oh yeah, you’re right!” The first kid laughs.

Rey barely has anytime to eat her lunch as her campers bombard her with plenty of questions about herself as well as indulging stories of past camp shenanigans.

“Master Rey, are you _married_?” B.B. loudly asks as lunch is winding down. 

Ben can’t help but turn his head to look down towards the front of the long table where Rey is surrounded by her flock of admirers.

“No, I’m not married.” Rey answers simply.

Some of the boys lightly giggle behind their hands at this.

“Then do you have a boyfriend?” B.B. asks instead. “A _cute_ boyfriend?”

The giggles are louder now.

“No, not one of those either. I’ve been too busy with school to date, if I’m being honest.”

“Why you asking?” Easton pipes up, elbowing B.B. “You want to date Master Rey?”

“NO!” B.B. replies, going red in the face with embarrassment. 

“Are we ready for our first activity?” Rey quickly asks her campers, diffusing the situation.

“YEAH!!!!” Her campers burst out.

“Okay, let’s clean up our mess and then head outside.” Rey says.

She then begins to sing the ‘Clean Up’ song. Yes - _the_ ‘Clean Up’ song from ‘Barney’. To Ben’s horror, the boys begin to sing along with her as they gather up their trays and plates, taking them to the corner of the mess hall closest to the kitchens where they drop off their trash in the proper receptacles and place their utensils in a large tub to be washed later.

“First singing and now this?” Hux says grumpily as he walks up to Ben where he sits. He’s brandishing the schedule of activities from his clipboard. Hux points to the first activity of the day. “I _knew_ having a woman around was going to change things.”

“Tie-Dye shirts?!” Ben reads aloud. He groans. “This summer is going to be a disaster.”

^^^^^

The campers LOVED tie-dying their camp shirts. Mitaka passed out everyone a white t shirt with a black Padawan Scouts logo. They rolled them up, tied them up with rubber bands and dipped them in various tubs of colored dye. The tree line along the mess hall was now decorated with a rainbow of drying shirts as they hung by clothespins on clotheslines strung between the trees.

Ben furiously scrubs remaining dye from his hands in one of the camp bathrooms, Hux at the basin beside him in an equal predicament.

“She has got to go.” Hux mutters to Ben over the sound the streaming water.

“It’s only the first day.” Ben replies, pumping another shot of soap into his hand. “Give it some time.”

Hux balks at this. “You can _not_ be serious. You said it yourself! This is an _all boys camp_.”

“You misunderstand.” Ben quickly backtracks. “What I meant was is that the kids are just excited. Just wait until we’re two weeks in and they all start getting homesick and acting out. It never fails to happen.”

“You’re right.” Hux says, nodding in agreement as he grabs for a wad of paper towels from the dispenser. “In the meantime, I think I’ve got a couple of ideas that can help speed up the process.”

Ben shuts the water off in his sink and eyes Hux suspiciously. “What kind of ideas?”

Luke and Mitaka have the campers busy unpacking their belongings in the cabins while Klaud is hard at work cooking dinner. Rey was still up at the mess hall rinsing out the tubs that had been used for the shirt dye. Hux stalks along the dirt path that leads up into the woods and the isolation cabin where Rey is staying.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Ben says to Hux as he follows behind. Hux periodically stops to overturn large rocks, in search for something.

“Of course I do. Before Miss Troop Beverly Hills arrived, Luke would use the isolation cabin as more of a storage facility than a time out.” Hux reminds Ben. “I’ve been up here loads of time. Place is packed with old kayaks and camping gear.” He stops to overturn another rock. “One day when I was sent up here to replace a broken deck chair I found-” He pauses and swiftly grabs at something long and black off the ground. “THESE.”

“Get that away from me!” Ben says, stepping back as Hux flashes a snake in his face.

“These woods are perfect for their nests.” Hux says, holding out his arm and letting the snake curl around his wrist. “It’s a harmless rat snake.” He grins evilly. “But she doesn’t need to know that.”

“You’re crazy.” Ben says to Hux as he hurriedly sneaks closer towards the isolation cabin. Hux tries the handle and it swings open with a rusty creak.

“Hmmm. The old man must have cleaned it up for her.” Hux muses as they look around the cabin.

There are still stacks of extra tables and chairs pushed against the back wall of the cabin as well as one faded green kayak, but it certainly had been exceptionally tidied up and dusted in order to act as a guest room. Ben recognizes the bed as one that used to reside in Luke’s room up behind the mess hall.

“A queen size bed? This is unfair.” Hux says as he reaches for the covers of the bed. He lifts the corner of the quilt and lets the snake slither from his arm and into the cold confines of the sheets. “There. That should help speed things along.”

Ben eye catches on an open duffel, lying on the floor next to the bed, a bottle of sun lotion poking out the top. He can spy a hint of pink lace from inside the bag. His face begins to warm and his throat suddenly feels very tight.

“Let’s bail before she shows up. She’ll be here any minute.” Hux says, tapping Ben on the shoulder and bringing him out from his stupor.

“Just exactly where are we going?” Ben asks as Hux practically pushes him out of the cabin and down the steps.

“If we hide behind those trees there, we’ll have front row seats to her freaking out.” Hux tells him, pointing to two thick pine trees just feet from the path.

“I’m not going to hide in the bushes like some pervert.” Ben hisses to Hux.

“Shh shh! Someone’s coming!” Hux says, quickly motioning to the trees. Ben grumbles and steps over some large shrubs and takes cover behind one tree while Hux hides behind the other, his spine pressed against the trunk of the tree as if he’s part of some ‘Mission: Impossible’ style stakeout.

Rey is humming to herself as she comes up the path, holding one of the tie-dye shirts in her hands. She walks up the steps to the porch of the cabin and carefully hangs the shirt over one of the railings to continue to dry. The door of the cabin slightly squeaks as she enters and it bangs shut behind her.

“How do you know she’s going to even find it?” Ben whispers to Hux.

“Just trust me!” Hux hisses back. The two are quiet as they continue to wait. The minutes drag on and there is the only sound of nature around them. The bark of the tree is making his back itch and he’s positive there’s sap in his hair.

“This is stupid.” Ben eventually says. “I’m leaving.”

“No! Wait!” Hux says, waving a hand at Ben.

The door to the cabin swings open again.

“Here you go sweetheart!” Rey is heard saying. 

Ben peeks around the tree and to see Rey cradling a curled up mass of black in her hands. “What a beauty you are!” She baby talks to the snake as she steps down from the porch and up to the tree line opposite of them. “Off to your home now! You’re better out here where you belong.” She continues to talk to the snake as she lets it slide off her hand and off into the brush. “Come back anytime to visit!”

She looks down at her hands, still stained with dye and now dirtied from handling wildlife. She hikes back down the path, turning in the direction of the bathrooms.

“Way to go, genius.” Ben berates Hux as they step out from the trees.

“Girls are supposed to be afraid of snakes!” Hux says angrily, looking like he was on the verge of having a tantrum better suited for their campers.

“Well I hope your other ideas are better, or else this is going to be a long summer.”


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mind the updated tags. Part of this got a bit dark and I'd rather call it out than have someone come across it and be triggered. It is minor though.
> 
> There are plenty of Easter Eggs in this chapter. Let's see if you can find them all! ;)

^^^^^

When Ben and Hux return from the woods to their cabins, Luke is there talking with Rey. Her hands are moving animatedly as she speaks. The boisterous voices of the campers echo out from the open cabin doors as they finish up their unpacking.

“There you two are.” Luke says as they neared him and Rey. “Why don’t you two check on your campers and make sure they’re ready for dinner.”

“Master Rey!” B.B. calls from the doorway of his cabin. “Come see what I brought from home!”

“Coming!” Rey calls over her shoulder. She smiles at Luke and glances quickly at Ben before turning and heading inside the cabin.

“Rey was just telling me an interesting story about how she found a snake inside her cabin.” Luke says, turning his attention to the remaining counselors. “You two wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?” He asks in a tone that suggests he knows they’re definitely involved.

“Perhaps it’s because her cabin is so far back in the woods.” Hux muses quickly before becoming distracted. One of his campers is in the process of hanging up a poster on the cabin door of a scantily clad model holding a beer mug in one hand and hot dog in the other, preparing to eat it in a very suggestive manner .“Finn!” Hux barks. “You can NOT put up _that_ kind of poster!” Finn whines as Hux confiscates the poster and is proceeded to be reminded of the code of Padawan Scouts.

“I meant what I said earlier, Ben.” Luke says quietly, just loud enough for his nephew to hear him. “I don’t want to hear any fuss about Rey.”

Ben chooses not to reply as Luke walks off in the direction of the mess hall. He runs a frustrated hand through his hair before entering his campers cabin, ducking his head slightly in the doorway. Some of the campers who had been goofing off quickly snap to attention in his presence.

“All right Scouts! Fall in line for dinner!”

“Yes Master Ben!” The veteran scouts shout, as all but one camper scramble to line up single file in the aisle between the rows of bunks.

Ty, the shy boy who was first to be called to Ben’s cabin, still sits on his bunk clutching a stuffed otter. Ben walks over and stands next to the bunk.

“Ty, it’s time to head to the mess hall for dinner.” Ben says firmly to the boy. Ty looks at the other campers waiting in line, a few of them peering his way, and then looks back at Ben. He shakes his head ‘no’ at him.

“Are you not hungry?”

Ty shakes his head again.

“Then you don’t have to eat, but you’re going to come to the mess hall. You’re part of this cabin. We all go as a group.” Ben explains.

Ty doesn’t respond. Ben crosses his arm at this.

“Do you want your friends to go hungry?” Ben asks him. “Because we’re not leaving without you.”

“I want s’mores!” A boy named Mickey shouts from the front of the line.

Ty sighs and places his otter down on his bed and slides off the bunk and trudges over to the back of the line, silently following his cabin mates up to the mess hall.

^^^^^

Following dinner, Luke leads the scouts through the woods into a cleared area where several log stumps and long tree trunks have been arranged around to accommodate an audience. An acoustic guitar leans against one of the stumps. Mitaka is busy stoking a growing fire in a fire pit surrounded by large stones that has been set up between where the trunks and the stumps are.

“Take a seat, Padawans!” Luke instructs the campers after they arrive from the mess hall.

“Is this when we get to eat s’mores?” Mickey asks Luke as the campers scramble to find seats next to their friends and cabin mates .

“In due time, Mickey.” Luke says. “This is the first night of camp. On the first night, we get to know all our fellow campers and sing a few songs around the campfire. It’s a Padawan Scouts tradition.” Mickey frowns and goes and sits next to a boy named Dion from Rey’s cabin.

“Before we get started, what are the five key values of the Padawan Scouts?” Luke asks of the campers.

“Peace! Knowledge! Serenity! Harmony! Balance!” The campers shout in unison.

“Splendid job!” Luke praises. He takes a seat on a log stool with Rey on his left, Mitaka, Ben and Hux on his right. “Okay everyone! Let’s get started on our introductions. Show of hands, who has been to camp with the Padawan Scouts before?” A little more than half the kids raise their hands. “For those who don’t know me, I’m Luke Skywalker and I’m the founder of the Padawan Scouts. And before you ask, I lost my hand during my time in the military. I did _not_ lose it to the sea monster of Lake Skellig. That is nothing but a camp myth.”

Several of the campers groan at this, disappointed the rumors passed down from veteran campers wasn’t true.

“Is there _really_ a sea monster in the lake?” Iggy, the tallest of the campers, raises his hand and asks.

“I guess you’ll just have to wait and see!” Luke says with a wink. The scouts murmur amongst themselves at this.

“Now it’s time for our counselors to introduce themselves. Rey? Since this is your first year with the Padawan Scouts, why don’t you go first?”

All eyes turn to Rey, including those of her fellow counselors. “Okay! Well… Hi, I’m Rey! I’m 23 years old and I’m a senior at Corellia University and I’m studying to become a social worker. I _love_ food, any kind really, and um… My favorite color is yellow so I’m really excited to be in charge of the yellow cabin!”

The campers applaud, rowdy cheers coming from those from her cabin. Once everyone else has gone around and said a little introduction about themselves, Luke declares that it’s time for campfire songs. Mitaka picks up the guitar that has been propped up against Luke’s stool and positions it in preparation to play while Luke sings. The seasoned scouts since along to the songs that they know, Rey and the new campers joining in if they were familiar. Hux begrudgingly sings along while Ben only seems to barely mouth along.

“Sing the one about the seagulls again!” calls out one of the scouts after about a dozen or so songs.

“No, no!” Luke laughs. “Twice is enough for one evening. How about we let someone else have a turn. Any takers?” Luke glances around at his counselors. “Ben?”

“You know I haven’t played in years.” Ben grunts to his Uncle, folding his arms grumpily. “Poe was the one who would play.” He reminds him.

“I know a little.” Rey speaks up, raising her hand as she does so. There is a murmur of excitement amongst the campers. Mitaka hands Rey the guitar and she takes a moment to prop it against the top of her thigh, meticulously arranging her fingers along the neck.

“Now this may not be very good.” She warns the campers. “I’m self taught. One of the many perks of growing up in a group home, I suppose. We had to learn to entertain ourselves.”

“Master Rey?” one of the campers, Todd, raises his hand. “What’s a group home?” He asks confused.

“Oh! Well, it’s a home for older kids who don’t have parents or guardians and have yet to be adopted.” Rey explains to him gently, her smile sad.

“Oh.” Todd says. “Were you ever adopted?”

“Um. No.” Rey admits, awkwardly shifting the guitar in her lap a bit.

Ben glances down the row of adults, his jaw set and lips tensing into a frown. So Rey grew up in foster care? And no one adopted her? That seemed… Ben searches for the word. Upsetting? Absurd? She seems so nice and caring and pretty…

‘Wait- Rey, pretty?’ Ben thinks to himself. ‘What is wrong with you? Get a hold of yourself!’

Unfortunate. Yes, that was it. Her situation was unfortunate. Surely there must have been a reason she wasn’t adopted. Perhaps she had several stints in juvenile detention and therefore had a hard time landing a ‘real’ job when she got older. Maybe she stole a car, robbed a convenience store, drove said stolen car _into_ a convenience store. His Uncle definitely was the type of person to take pity on a person with such a background.

“But that’s okay though.” Rey says, bringing Ben out of his thoughts. “I’ve made lots of friends over the years. They’ve become my new family.”

“Why don’t we let Rey play for us, hmm?” Luke asks, placing a hand on Rey’s shoulder and giving her a comforting smile to ease her obvious discomfort at the topic at hand.

“Right.” Rey says, nodding her head at Luke and smiling wide again. She clears her throat. “This was my favorite song growing up, so naturally this was the first one I learned.”

She begins to strum the guitar, a bit rusty at first, but the tune is soon recognizable. Ben’s arms unfold and drop slack to his lap almost in a daze as she begins to sing Tom Petty’s ‘American Girl’. It was a song that Ben was very familiar with, but tonight it hit him completely different.

The way she sang about there being more to life and lots of places to run to in a great big world made his chest and throat feel tight. It made sense that a girl living in a group home would dream of a better life for herself, wanting to get away from the life she had, promising her younger self she would do whatever it took to fulfill that promise of a better life, or die trying.

“Oh yeah. All right. Take it easy, baby. Make it last all night. She was… An American girl….” Rey finished, almost softly.

The campers erupted into cheers and applause. Luke vigorously claps his hands, his prosthetic making an odd noise as he did so. “Impressive!” He complimented her.

“Sing us another one, Master Rey!” Camper Artie shouts to his counselor as the clapping dies down. There is a chorus agreement amongst most of the campers at this suggestion.

Rey looks over at Luke as if asking for permission. Luke smiles and nods his head at her. “Well… I do know _one_ other song.” She says as she shifts on the log and adjusts her hold on the guitar. “Do you guys like ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’?”

The response is overwhelming. The boys shout out quotes from the show and several try to mimic the title characters nasally laugh.

“All right, all right!” Rey laughs. “I need a Patrick. Who wants to volunteer?”

Several hands shoot up around the circle. Rey ends up picking B.B., much to his delight.

“Ready?” She asks the campers. They nod and she begins to pluck the opening chords of the ‘Campfire Song’ song.

“Let’s gather ‘round the campfire and sing our campfire song! Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song! And if you don’t think we can sing it faster then you’re wrong! But it will help if you just sing along…..”

The campers enter in with a rousing ‘Bum, bum, buuuummmm!’. They begin to sing along, trying to match the quick pace at which Rey has begun repeating the spelling of the words ’Campfire Song’. Even Mitaka is tapping his foot and Luke is slightly swaying back and forth to the tune.

“C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song! C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song! Patrick!” Rey shouts, pointing at B.B. who promptly leaps to his feet and proceeds to spell out the words. He sits back down to the applause of his friends.

“Squidward!” Rey shouts, pointing this time at Ben.

His eyes dart to hers, startled by the sudden attention. Her eyes sparkle with amusement in the firelight. She and the other campers are apparently waiting for his involvement with the song but he just stares back blankly, unsure of what to do. The campers erupt with laughter at Ben’s stunned face.

“Good!” Rey praises him with a toothy smile before returning to strumming the guitar.

“It’ll help! It’ll help! If you just sing along!” She finishes, strumming out the closing chords.

“Very nice! Well done Rey.” Luke says as he takes the guitar back from Rey as the campers applaud the performance heartily. “Now I do believe it is time for lights out, Scouts!”

Luke’s declaration causes the boys to grumble in protest, but he is firm in herding them from their seats and towards the cabins. “Counselors, please check in with me when all your campers are in for the night.”

^^^^^

“You must look like your dad.”

Ben flinches, not realizing Rey had exited the mess hall. He had just finished informing Luke that all his scouts were accounted for in their cabin and was awaiting Hux outside on the front steps. Rey closes the door behind her and turns to Ben where he stands, shoving her hands into the kangaroo pocket of the dark gray hoodie she has put on to shield against the cooling summer air. It bears the logo of Corellia University and their falcon mascot. The hoodie is so long it nearly covers up her shorts, making her legs look even longer.

“Excuse me?” He says, slightly taken aback by her comment.

“Master Skywalker says you’re his nephew.” Rey clarifies as she steps closer to where he stands at the edge of the steps. “You don’t look anything like him though. So you must look like your dad.”

“Ah.” Ben says, looking away from her and gazing skyward for a moment. “My dad’s from Corellia.” He says after a moment, nodding to her hoodie.

Her face lights up at this, her cheek dimpling. “Really? Master Skywalker says you’re from Chandrila. I’ve never been there, but I heard it’s really nice!”

“You know you don’t have to keep calling him ‘Master Skywalker’ all the time.” Ben tells her, mildly annoyed as he crosses his arms. “You can just call him Luke. I don’t expect you to call me ‘Master Ben’.”

“Oh… Okay.” Rey says, looking away almost shyly. She must sense that he is feeling tense because she blurts out an apology. “I’m sorry about the Squidward comment earlier. If it made you upset, I mean.” She says. He raises an eyebrow at her.

“You just kind of remind me of him” She says with a quick shrug. “Tall… Grumpy… Big nose…”

“Big nose?” Ben repeats. Who does this girl think she is?!?

“Not that that’s a bad thing!” She quickly clarifies, taking her hands out of the kangaroo pocket and waving them as if to diffuse the situation. “I like it! I mean - it’s nice!” She says.

Ben purses his lips and turns away from her again. “I’ve never seen ‘SpongeBob’.” He admits.

“Oh.” Rey says, her shoulders relaxing once she realizes he isn’t exactly angry. She reaches up and begins to undo the triple buns in her hair, running her fingers through her hair to loosen the strands. Ben notices how long her really is, the tips brushing just past her shoulders. He briefly thinks she should wear her hair down more.

“My mother likes that song, too.” He finds himself revealing to her. 

She looks at him oddly. “Your _mom_ watches ‘SpongeBob’?”

“No!” Ben replies quickly. “The other one.” He answers almost shyly.

“Oh!” She says, blushing at her mistake. “Well, I’ve got to hike to my cabin so I guess I’ll just see you in the morning.” She says to him, offering a small smile. “Goodnight!”

“Goodnight.” He mumbles as she jogs down the steps. Hux steps out of the mess hall minutes later.

“I think something bit me.” He says to Ben, scratching at one of his ankles. “That gives me an idea though. What if we can somehow divert all the mosquitoes to her cabin?”

Ben just rolls his eyes and begins to head towards the counselor cabin.

“Or wait!” Hux say as he follows after him. “What about bees? Bees would work too…”

^^^^^

Rey is jolted awake by the sound of a bugle playing ‘Reveille’, certainly not an alarm she is used to. The tune has been amplified over the intercom system that’s stationed up at the mess hall in Lukes office. She rolls out of her bed and stretches, a ache in her back from the worn out mattress springs. Yawning she reaches for her clipboard to check today’s camp schedule before dressing for the day. She clenches hair ties in-between her teeth and pulls her hair up into her go-to triple buns as she treks down the hill that leads to the scout cabins. A few of the campers are already milling about, some of them wearing their tie-die shirts from the previous day.

“Good morning Armitage!” Rey calls cheerfully to Hux who is angrily scratching at one of his legs exposed by his cargo shorts. Hux practically glares at her. Rey makes a face, her lips pursing in concern. “That doesn’t look good.” She comments on the obvious rash Hux is currently attacking, almost as red as his hair. “It looks like poison ivy. I think I spotted some around my cabin, it must grow around here. You should be more careful.”

“Will do.” Hux replies between clenched teeth as Rey walks up to her scouts door and knocks on it.

“Everyone decent?” She calls through the door before letting herself in.

Ben comes out of his scouts cabin with his campers following suit in a single file line. All the campers except for Ty don’t seem to mind Ben’s more military style of how he decides to manages them. Meanwhile Hux barks at his scouts to stop messing around and to line up for breakfast.

The door of the last cabin swings open and Rey marches out, her knees rising high with each step as her group of devoted scouts follow.

“SOUND OFF!” She shouts as she leads them towards the mess hall.

“ONE, TWO!” The scouts chant in return.

“SOUND OFF!”

“THREE, FOUR!”

“I DON’T KNOW BUT I’VE BEEN TOLD!”

“I DON’T KNOW BUT I’VE BEEN TOLD!”

“MASTER LUKE IS REALLY OLD!”

“MASTER LUKE IS REALLY OLD!”

Her campers all laugh and giggle at her rhyme. Hux shoots Rey a death stare as her group marches past them.

“Are you just going to let her talk about your Uncle that way?” Hux hisses to Ben, reaching down to scratch at his leg.

“She’s not wrong.” Ben mumbles. He looks down at Hux and grimaces. “That looks like -”

“Poison ivy, I know!” Hux snaps. “Probably stepped in it while we were waiting for her to find that damn snake.” He grumbles. “Did you bring any corticosteroid cream with you?”

“Of course I did.” Ben scoffs. “Don’t let Luke hear you forgot it. Preparedness is a Padawan Scouts value. He’ll never let you live it down.”

“I know, I KNOW.” Hux complains as they near the mess hall. His voice drops to a whisper. “I’ve got a couple things up my sleeve for what we can do to get back at her.”

“Get back at her? She didn’t give you poison ivy.” Ben replies with a frown.

“She has no place here!” Hux protests. “Now I was thinking, if I could get some sardine oil from the kitchens, we could _really_ have some fun…”

After breakfast, the campers headed outside to where they had dyed their t-shirts the day before. Several folding tables were set up with small plastic bins full of different crafting materials. Luke announces they will be making dream catchers to go along with the theme of ‘Peace’ from the list of Padawan Scout values. Hux gives Ben a pointed look at this, insinuating that more crafts had to have been influenced by Rey’s presence. The campers hurry out into the woods to gather sticks they can use for their dream catchers. When they return, they set out to tying the sticks together with string.

“Look at mine, Master Rey!”

“Master Rey, Artie’s hogging all the blue and white beads!”

“Master Rey, can you help me tie this knot?”

Ben grumbles as he stares down the length of the table, his back beginning to hurt from hunching over, his thick fingers sore pinching tiny beads between them. Rey flits around the table, commenting on each of her campers creations. On Hux’s side of the table, Finn and Iggy have taken to having a play sword fight with some of the unused sticks. He glances at his own campers, most of them having taken to the art project with ease, conversing happily with each other and passing around the various boxes of beads for sharing.

Next thing Ben sees is Rey leaning over little Ty’s shoulder, helping him hold his sticks in place while he carefully ties them together, his tongue stuck out between his teeth in concentration. Rey praises his good work when he finishes his knot and Ty beams up at her, the first smile he has given anyone since his arrival at the camp.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ben finds himself snapping at her.

“He needed help.” Rey explains. Ty casts his eyes downward and shrinks his shoulders in, trying to make himself look small.

“He’s not your camper. He’s in _my_ cabin.”

“Well he didn’t ask _you_ for help, he asked _me_!”

“He should have asked _me_ for help. He doesn’t need you babying him.”

“Excuse me? Babying?” Her eyes narrow, burning at him in anger. “Is this because I’m a _girl_?”

“Of course it’s because you’re a girl! You don’t belong here!”

“Well your Uncle certainly felt otherwise or else I wouldn’t be here, now would I?”

“My Uncle is a -”

“Um, Master Rey? Master Ben?” interrupts one of the campers, tugging on Rey’s shirt to get her attention and pointing to the ground.

Rey and Ben turn their attention to Ty, who is now sitting on the ground, rocking back and forth with his hands clamped over his ears. Rey immediately crouches down next to him and begins rubbing his back and trying to coax him to calm down. 

“What’s going on here?” Barks Luke, hurrying down the steps from the mess hall. He takes one look at Ty, then takes in Ben’s angry red face and goes straight into action. “Mitaka, take Ty to his cabin.” He orders. He then points at Ben and Rey. “You two! In my office - NOW!” 

“Yes Master Skywalker!” Mitaka says, swooping in to take over in the process of calming down Ty. 

Rey shoots Ben a dirty glare as she straightens before following her boss back up the steps and into the mess hall. Ben grumbles, looking around at the aftermath of the scene. Several campers scramble back to what they were doing, lest they get in trouble, too. Hux gives Ben a thumbs up. Mitaka is now leading Ty away towards the cabins, a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Luke’s office is incredibly cramped. It is right by the kitchens and the smell of todays lunch cooking and hot dishwater assault Ben’s nose as he ducks inside, practically slamming the door shut behind him.

“Just what the hell happened out there?” Luke asks them. It angers Ben that the question is aimed more at Rey than at him.

“Master Skywalker, I apologize.” Rey begins. “I allowed myself get upset in front of Ty. I was only trying to _help_ -” She glances over at Ben and glares at him once more. “- when he asked me to. And then Ben got angry that I was helping his camper, saying that I had no right to help a camper not of my assigned cabin.”

“Is this true Benjamin?” Luke asks his nephew. Ben winces. Full first name used, not a good sign.

“Yes, but-”

“So if one of the other campers was, God forbid, drowning? Would you not intervene because they weren’t in your assigned care?”

“Obviously not, but-”

“Or if one of the campers was choking? Would you fail to administer CPR because they weren’t in your cabin?”

“No!” Ben shouts, his hands clenching into fists at his side. He takes a deep breath, willing himself to calm down. The thought passes through his mind how ironic it is he is using the techniques learned at this very camp to calm himself down. “No.” He repeats, quieter this time. “I just-”

“I know you’re not happy with my decision to hire Rey.” Luke says point blank to him. Rey glances over at Ben at this, frowning. “That is no excuse for you to treat her this way. If you are to be upset with anyone, it is with me. She is your fellow associate. We are a TEAM. We help each other here, or is that not one of the Padawan Scout values?”

“Yes Master Skywalker.” Ben grumbles lowly, continuing to avoid Rey’s penetrating gaze.

“Rey.” Luke says, turning to her. “I understand you didn’t mean to let your emotions get a hold of you in front of a camper like Ty. Please make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“Yes Master Skywalker.” Rey says, nodding emphatically, the buns on the back of her head wobbling.

“I’ve got to check on young Mr. Vechter. You’re free to return to your campers.” Luke tells them before brushing past on his way out of the office.

As soon as the mess door hall bangs shut, Rey rounds on Ben, her hands on her hips. “I hope you’re happy.” She nags at him. “I really don’t care what you think about me, but you _really_ ought to learn more about your campers. They look up to us.” Ben can see her eyes begin to slightly water, but she holds back her tears. “They don’t need a monster to be afraid of.” And with that, she hurries from the room, the mess hall doors slamming shut once again. 

Ben stares out the open office door, fists still clenched at his sides. The only sounds he can hear are the sounds of Klaud cooking next door, pots and pans banging against the stove. Him? A monster? The nerve of her! He’s dealt with plenty of troubled campers in years past. And what was it that his Uncle had said about Ty? A camper like him?”

Ben looks down at Luke’s cluttered desk, immediately noticing the stack of manila folders containing all of the campers personal information, having yet to be filed away in one of the many overstuffed filing cabinets that lined the back wall. Ben takes the liberty of sitting down at his Uncles desk and shuffles through the stack until he finds the file he is looking for.

He flips it open and reads, his stomach twisting. Ty had been signed up for the Padawan Scouts by his mother. She was newly married and was having problems with Ty getting along with his new step-father. Which made sense, considering they both had been physically and emotionally abused by a former boyfriend. Ben closes the file and places it on top of the stack. He leans his elbows on the desk, placing his head in his hands.

He really was a monster, wasn’t he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a little 'who is who' regarding the Padawan Scouts:
> 
> Bailey Bates aka B.B. - BB-8  
> Easton - BB-9E  
> Artie - R2-D2  
> Todd - T0-D  
> Dion - D-O  
> Mickey - MSE-6 (mouse droid - get it? Mickey Mouse? Har har)  
> Iggy - IG-88  
> Ty Vechter - not named after a droid, but after TIE Fighter  
> Finn - not named after a droid, but after Finn the Stormtrooper


	3. 3

^^^^^

Ben steps out of the mess hall and walks up to the top step, peering down at the craft tables still spread out on the lawn. Rey is back at the far end with her campers, fishing around in the bead tubs for specific colors at the scouts request. Ty has yet to return and Luke and Mitaka are no where in sight, no doubt still with him back at the cabin. He descends the steps and returns to his spot at the table where his dream catcher remains unfinished, only a handful of red and black beads having been strung through the twine that holds the sticks together. He chances a glance down the table at Rey, surprisingly catching her eyes. She gives him an apathetic look in return before turning to Artie, offering him the variety of blue beads she has unearthed in her search. Ben looks back down at his dream catcher, considering taking it into his hands and snapping the twigs.

“Psst!” Hux says, sidling up alongside Ben. “So what happened in there? Verbal warning? Strike one? Give me the details.” He hisses to Ben.

“Nothing.” Ben grumbles. “Nothing happened.”

“What do you mean nothing happened?” Hux whines.

“She apologized. Luke said to make sure it doesn’t happen again. End of story.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Well, I’m proud of you for putting her in her place. Couple more outbursts from her and he’ll have to fire her. Mitaka would make a fine replacement, don’t you think? What does your Uncle really need him for anyways? Except for playing the bugle in the morning and the guitar at campfire I mean.”

Ben doesn’t get a chance to reply because Mitaka and his Uncle are returning from the cabins with Ty. Ty clings to his otter plush and gives Ben a ‘deer in headlights’ stare upon seeing him. Luke whispers something in Ty’s ear and Ty quickly looks away from Ben. Rey comes over to Ty almost immediately, crouching down and talking softly to him. He can tell by the way that she strokes the head of the plush toy that she must be asking him about it. She smiles at Ty and shakes the otters paw, as if introducing herself. Ty smiles back and wipes away remnants of tears from his face with the back of his hand. Rey takes Ty by the hand and leads him back to where he left his dream catcher and proceeds to help him finish it.

“Should we make one for Ollie?” Ben hears Rey suggest to Ty. Ty shakes his head.

“No, otters don’t need dream catchers.” Ty tells her.

“I did not know that.” Rey says, as if this was an actual National Geographic fact.

There are no more outbursts to be had that day. To his surprise Ty fell in line with the rest of the campers, no questions asked, when it was dinner time. Ben suspected this may have had to do with what had been discussed earlier between Ty and his Uncle. At tonight’s campfire, Luke told the campers stories about the Ahch-To tribe and their use of dream catchers. At the end of he night the boys were escorted back to their cabins by the counselors. Excited to go to bed, they discussed amongst themselves if their new dream catchers would really work like they did in the stories.

Hux is already leaving the mess hall by the time Ben arrives to report in to Luke for the night. 

“Any sign of her?” Hux asks to Ben once he reaches the top of the steps, looking around cautiously.

“No. Why?” Ben asks with a slight shrug of his shoulder.

“Perfect.” Hux says with a devilish grin. “Keep her busy for me, will you?”

“What?” Ben snaps at the request.

“I jus need you to distract her is all!” Hux begs. “I’ve got three boxes of frozen fish sticks I jacked from the kitchens when Klaud wasn’t looking. I’m going to dump them in the trash can at her cabin. Bears like fish, yeah?”

“You’re ridiculous.” Ben says, shaking his head at him.

“Thanks!” Hux just says, clapping a hand on his shoulder before heading down the steps.

When Ben enters the mess hall, Luke is sitting at one of the long cafeteria tables with papers and clipboards spread out in front of him, a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose. 

“All campers accounted for.” Ben relays to his Uncle.

“Thank you Ben.” Luke says, scribbling onto one of the clipboards. “Have a good night.”

Ben remains, having expected his Uncle to at least touch on the incident that had occurred earlier. “Uncle Luke, I looked at Ty’s file.” He confesses. Luke doesn’t seemed surprised at this. He just merely looks up at Ben over the top of his glasses. “Why didn’t you tell me he was afraid of men?”

Luke sighs and takes off his glasses, setting them down next to his clipboards. “Ty isn’t afraid of men. Sure he’s cautious, he has every right to be, but that’s because of what he and his mother went through. What you need to learn is that it’s _how_ you come across to him that makes him fearful of you. Sparking that argument with Ms. Johnson in front of him triggered a PTSD response. Among other things, Ty is here to learn that men in an authoritative role aren’t out to hurt him. And I have to admit - you aren’t doing a good job so far.”

Ben frowns at this. “Rey called me a monster after you left your office earlier.”

Luke smirks at this. “Did she now?” Ben nods. “Well I don’t blame her. You could learn a lot from her, you know.”

“What could I learn from her?” Ben scoffs. “She’s nothing but a glorified babysitter. The way she mothers those kids isn’t going to help make them self-sufficient in the end.”

Luke just smiles at this. “Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong.”

Ben practically glares at his Uncle over his remark. “We’ll see.” He replies.

As he turns to leave the mess hall the door opens and Rey enters, here to report on her campers to Luke. Ben glances her way as they pass each other. Rey barely acknowledges him as she walks up to Luke at his table. After the doors shut behind him, he begrudgingly waits outside the mess hall as he silently curses Hux and his crazy schemes. It’s barely a minute later when Rey exits. She stops and takes the time to undo her hairstyle like she did the night before. Her gray hoodie is tied around her waist tonight, draping down her backside in a slight curve. She shakes out her hair and flips it over her shoulders nonchalantly before beginning to descend the steps without a word to him.

Oh shit. He was supposed to distract her, wasn’t he?

“About earlier…” He begins. Rey stops in her tracks and slightly turns to him. “I uh…” He falters. What exactly is he supposed to say here? Is he sorry he isn’t happy his Uncle hired her? Is he sorry he caused a scene over one of his campers? Is he sorry he’s acting like a complete ass to her?

“You what?” She retorts. She steps back up to the top step to confront him. “You know, Luke warned me you wouldn’t be happy me being hired.” She tells him crossing her arms. She scoffs to herself and looks away from him and shakes her head. “And I didn’t believe him.” She turns back to him. “I guess I just figured that someone who works with children would be more ‘ _mature_ ’ about a woman being their co-worker.” She turns to walk away again but Ben speaks up.

“Now, hang on.” He growls. She turns back to him with fire in her eyes. “You haven’t worked these kids for years like I have. They need to learn to be independent. They need _guidance_. They don’t need to be coddled.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Rey snaps at him. “I’ve had no one to rely on my whole life. I’ve put myself through college the last five years. So don’t tell me I don’t know about what it means to be independent.” She points a finger at him. “You’d be surprised what an impact praise and compassion can have on a child.” She looks away again and places her hands on her hips, the arms of the sweatshirt swaying between her legs. “I really hoped you would have understood.” She mutters lowly to him before turning away and trotting down the steps and heading off into the woods.

A breeze rolls by, ruffling at his hair as he remains standing at the top of the steps, left to contemplate her final words.

^^^^^

Hux’s prank with the frozen fish sticks did not pan out how he had hoped. All the fish sticks succeeded in attracting was a fairly tame family of raccoons. During breakfast Rey told her campers all about the raccoons, five of them, which had woken her up in the middle of the night after they overturned the trash can beneath the porch of the isolation cabin. Intrigued by her story, all the campers all decided to vote on names for the pests. By the time breakfast was over, Mr. and Mrs. Trash Panda had received the highest number of votes for the names of the parents and Tina, Gene, and Louise were the winning names for their children.

“What do you think they were looking for?” asks Easton as he shoves scrambled eggs in his mouth.

“Food, obviously.” Rey replies. “Which is strange because I haven’t thrown away any food in there, yet they were digging in a box of fish sticks.”

Ben glances up at this, meeting the stern eyes of his Uncle who has also overheard the story. Ben looks back down at his plate and hurriedly finishes off his potatoes before taking his tray over to the kitchens to be cleaned. He returns to his table and gathers his campers, overseeing them as they clean up their places before lining them up and leading them outside for the days activity.

Fridays were lake days. It was typically an exciting day in itself, full of endless swimming, kayaking and trips in the canoe across the lake and back. Ben leads his campers down the slope of the hill towards the shore of private beach at the base of the camp property. Luke and Mitaka are already down there laying out life vests and unloading the kayaks from a trailer.

“Remember scouts, safety first!” He reminds the boys as he turns them loose.

“Yes Master Ben!” They respond before running off, soon entering into a frenzy of calling dibs on their favorite inflatable for the lake.

Ty hangs back, clutching his beach towel as he looks out at the glittering blue green waters of Lake Skellig. Ben eyes him for a few moments before taking the initiative to step closer.

“Did you remember your sunscreen Ty?” He asks him.

Ty flinches and looks up at Ben startled. He swallows and nods yes, that he did remember his sunscreen.

“Good. We don’t want you getting a sunburn.” He says matter of factly. He pauses. “Do otters get sunburned?”

Ben feels his mouth twitch with the hint of a smile of satisfaction as Ty cautiously replies. “No, they have fur to protect them.”

“Right.” Ben says, nodding his acceptance of his answer. Ty visibly relaxes after this.

Rey’s group of campers is next to arrive at the beach, shortly followed by Hux and his scouts. Dion from Rey’s cabin rushes over to Ty and starts talking to him, whisking him away towards the shore where they will build what Dion claims will be ‘the worlds biggest sand castle’.

“Master Rey will you come kayaking with us?” B.B. is asking Rey as they pass by Ben on the way to pick up their life vests.

“Sure! I’d love to!” Rey says to him.

“Ah! Armitage!” Mitaka says to Hux, coming up to him as pauses to slather more sunscreen on his pale skin. “We’re in need of two more kayaks. Can you go up to the isolation cabin and grab some from storage?”

“Why don’t you ask Re-” Hux begins before stopping abruptly. Ben can practically see the light bulb go off above his red hair. “Of _course_ I’ll go and grab them for you.” He instead says, his voice now thick with ulterior motives. “I’ll be right back.”

“Great! Thank you so much!” Mitaka says to Hux as he turns to trek back up the hill. “Oh and make sure you don’t bring the one with the leak in it!”

Hux grins like a Cheshire Cat at this. “Oh don’t worry, I won’t.” He replies sweetly.

Several campers are already splashing in the shallows, their camp shirts tossed over their respective beach bags. Rey helps fit her campers with life vests while Luke takes the first round of scouts out in the canoe. Ben stands under the shade of the massive tree that houses a tire swing on one of the braches that extends over the lake, keeping a watchful eye over the scouts. Hux returns later with two green kayaks and passes them off to Mitaka with a shit eating grin.

“Here are the kayaks Rey.” Mitaka says to Rey. Rey thanks Mitaka and beckons some of her scouts over to the dock where she helps them buckle into the two seater kayak. She slips her own life vest on over her tie die shirt before situating herself into the second kayak. They don’t make it far out until Rey is turning around and returning on her own to the dock. She steps out of her kayak, her denim shorts visibly soaked.

“Haha! Master Rey wet herself!” Todd laughs, pointing at Rey as water drips around her onto the dock.

Rey laughs off the children’s taunts. “Seems like the kayak sprung a leak on me!” She explains with a smile. Hux does a horrible job hiding his grin at her predicament.

“Goodness!” Mitaka says, rushing over to the dock where he helps Rey retrieve the slowly sinking kayak from the water. “Armitage, I told you to get the one _without_ the leak!” Mitaka chastises the nearby counselor.

“Did I grab the one with a leak? Oh, I feel just _awful_!” Hux says, placing a hand over his heart and making the ‘scouts honor’ gesture with his hand.

“An honest mistake, I’m sure.” Rey says, accepting the towel Mitaka hands her. “Good thing I came prepared for a day on the lake.”

Ben didn’t think his day would include seeing Rey half naked - but it did.

She passes Mitaka back the towel and removes her life vest. She shimmies from her water logged shorts and removes her tie die shirt, revealing the two piece swim suit she was wearing underneath.

Ben is suddenly heavily reminded of all those cheesy Hollywood movies where time ceases to move in the presence of a beautiful woman as the title character watches from afar. Loose tendrils of her hair stick to her cheeks as she adjusts the spaghetti straps of her maroon top, the triangles of fabric clinging perfectly to the swell of her breasts, just a hint of skin peeking out at the sides. The sweat of the summer day glistens on her chest, water droplets from the lake still fresh on her shapely legs. Rey wrings her shorts out in what seems like slow motion and he can swear he faintly hear White Snake’s ‘Is This Love’ playing somewhere in the background.

“BEN!”

Mitaka snaps his fingers in Ben’s face, pulling him back to reality.

“Did you even hear a word of what I just said?” Mitaka asks, his face twisted in annoyance. “I’ve been talking to you for the last couple of minutes!”

Ben looks around and realizes that he had been standing there zoned out, distracted by Rey in her bikini. Even the music he was hearing had not been a hallucination. Hux is adjusting the antennae of an ancient tape deck he’d lugged down from the isolation cabin with the kayaks, currently tuned to a classic rock station with the White Snake song fading in and out as Hux fiddles with the dial. Rey is clicking her life vest back on over him swim suit when she catches his gaze. Her eyes are bright and playful, suggesting she knows full well he was caught ogling her.

“What were you saying?” Ben asks Mitaka, glancing away and trying hard to ignore the way Rey’s wet swim suit bottoms cling to her behind as she walks back over to the dock.

“I asked if you could stay here and monitor the scouts while I go and grab another kayak from the isolation cabin. One that doesn’t _leak_ , specifically.”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Ben says quickly, brushing him off. Mitaka walks up the hill, muttering to himself about Ben’s lack of attention.

Hux smacks the back of the tape deck in the hopes it will make the radio signal better. Granted, it’s a little better, with only mild static occasionally interrupting the Def Leppard that is now playing. He walks over to Ben, obviously very pleased with himself.

“Did you see that?” He asks Ben gleefully. “Shame she didn’t get further out before the kayak started to go under. And did you SEE what she’s wearing?” He clucks his tongue in disapproval. “How she thinks that skimpy piece is appropriate to wear around young boys is beyond me.”

“Mmm.” Ben just replies, crossing his arms and observing the surroundings, trying in vain to tune Hux out.

“Just wait until Luke gets back to shore. I’m sure he’ll have her go back to her cabin to change.” Hux is now saying. “At least she doesn’t have much to look at.” He curls his hands as if he was holding invisible cantaloupes and holds them against his chest, mimicking breasts. “You know what I mean?”

Ben feels a rise of anger within him at Hux’s comments, his biceps tensing as his fists clench. 

“Anyways, the kayaks aren’t all that I got from the cabin.” Hux whispers to Ben. He fishes around in the pocket of his cargo shorts and slyly reveals to Ben a lacey pink pair of Rey’s underwear.

“Going to go with the classic ‘underwear up the flagpole’ prank.” Hux whispers devilishly.

“Give me those!” Ben hisses, snatching the offending garment from Hux’s pocket and stuffing it in his own shorts pocket before they can be seen. “What do you think you’re doing stealing her underwear? You can’t do that!”

“It will be embarrassing!” Hux defends, making a grab towards Ben’s pocket but Ben shoves him away with a forceful hand. “Hey!” Hux whines as he stumbles backwards.

“You’re going to get us fired!” Ben hisses to Hux. “If Luke see’s these up the flagpole he’ll know it was us for sure.” Ben says, pointing to the pocket that hides the panties. “He already thinks _I’m_ the one playing all the pranks, not you.” Ben finishes, poking Hux in the chest.

Hux raises his hands in surrender. “All right, all right. You’re right. That’s going a bit too far.” He admits. “So what do we do now about the underwear?”

Ben looks around, contemplating when and how he can dispose of the frilly fabric. Rey has come out of the shallows where she had been swimming, holding long strings of seaweed in her hands. She brings them to Ty so that he and Dion can decorate their sandcastle with them. Ty happily accepts the seaweed, flinging his arms around her middle for a hug. A pang of jealously strikes through him at this. “I’ll figure something out.” He grumbles.

Luke returns with the canoe, rowing up to the dock and letting the first gaggle of campers off. He gives Rey a friendly wave and she happily returns it.

“Here it comes!” Hux whispers, anticipating Rey to be reprimanded about her swim attire.

Rey points to the abandoned leaky kayak nearby and explains to Luke what happened. Luke just laughs at this and then proceeds to assist the next round of scouts board the canoe.

“I can’t believe he didn’t say anything!” Hux complains. Finn and Iggy race past them, making a beeline for the tire swing.

“Last one in the water is a rotten egg!” Iggy yells to Finn. Iggy reaches the swing first, beating Finn by mere inches. The boys clamber all over the tire, pushing off the ground with their feet to propel themselves out and over the water before jumping in the lake with a loud splash.

“I’m already getting bored.” Hux sighs. “How about a quick game of volleyball?”

^^^^^

Mitaka returns with another kayak, this one definitely looking better for the wear than the last one was. “There you go.” Mitaka says to Rey as he passes the kayak over to her. “I checked it over for any cracks and didn’t see any, so you should be good to go.” He tells her.

“Awesome! Thanks!” Rey says, gripping the sides of the kayak as she takes it from him. She glances over Mitaka’s shoulder as he walks away. Ben and Hux are in the middle setting up a volleyball net. Ben’s arm muscles are taut, his large hands gripping at the metal pole of the net as he buries it deep into the sand. Rey can’t help but feel a rush of warmth throughout her body as she recalls the look of hunger she had caught him giving her as she changed out of her lake drenched shorts. “Hey Mitaka?”

Mitaka pauses and turns back to her. “Yes?”

“What do you know about Ben?” Mitaka blinks at her at this. “Like, how long has he been a counselor here?” She clarifies.

“Oh! Well, I’ve only worked for Luke for the past four years so I’m not exactly sure. He’s been a counselor for about six or seven years, I’d say. But before he was a counselor, he used to be a Padawan Scout himself.”

Rey’s interest is piqued at this. “Really now?”

“Oh yes. Luke once told me he was inspired by Ben’s own childhood struggles when he started the Padawan Scouts, so it’s no surprise Ben has been so involved.”

“I didn’t know that. “Rey said, shaking her head. She then smiles at her coworker. “Thank Mitaka.”

Mitaka just nods at her and heads towards the dock where he begins reminding the campers about applying another layer of sunscreen.

Rey ponders about what Mitaka said about Ben having his own personal struggles as a child. What kind of struggles? Furthermore, for someone so familiar with the Padawan Scouts, why did Ben cause a scene when she was trying to help Ty the other day? Shouldn’t he know better than anyone the type of campers the Padawan Scouts catered to? These young boys may be rambunctious, loud, and messy, but some of them still harbored personal issues. Issues that they needed help to fully understand, to learn how to overcome them, to know that they weren’t alone.

She now reflects on both of their confrontations at the mess hall. Maybe he wasn’t such a monster after all. Then again, he admitted to her that he was upset that she had been hired. What kind of jerk gets upset over something like that? Yet the way he stared at her today on the beach wasn’t a look she would soon forget. She nearly shivers at the memory.

The echo of a particularly hard spike of a volleyball into the sand catches her attention. Glancing over at the net, she is surprised to see that Ben has shed his scout logo t shirt and is playing in just his black cargo shorts. His chest is broad and chiseled and she wonders briefly what it would be like to be pressed up against it. Is it as firm and warm as it looks? She can feel her face warm at the thought. 

‘This is ridiculous. He hates me.’ She thinks, biting her lip.

She looks up just in time to see Ben smirking smugly at her, the tables having turned and _her_ being the one caught ogling this time.

‘Two can play that game.’ Ben thinks as he watches a red-faced Rey stalk off quickly towards the dock with her kayak in tow.

Later that night, he struggles to sleep. Not only is he plagued by endless visions of Rey in her bikini, but he can feel the hidden pair of pink lace panties burning inside his pillowcase where he stuffed them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've compiled a Spotify playlist for 'Bugle Boys'! I'll be sharing it once the Anon comes off. :)


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're off Anon! It's-a me, ElleRen31! 
> 
> Sorry this took longer than expected to get out. I struggled with the dialogue a lot in this one on top of being out of town and busy with work. There is a bit of a fast forward so I hope that's okay, we just needed to get to the juicy stuff. ;) Enjoy!

Saturdays were free days amongst the campers. They mingled together as they played in the clearing outside their cabins, some of them kicking around a dirty soccer ball while others raided the craft supplies from the mess hall.

When Sunday rolled around, Luke started the next weeks theme: knowledge. Each cabin was given a sheet of paper with one of three Ahch-To tribe legends on them. The scouts were then to put on a performance, relaying what they learned from the story. The performances would be acted out at the campfire at the end of the week. Rey’s cabin got the story of the Ewok, or ‘cub’. Despite knowing all the stories by heart, Ben was still disappointed to receive the story of Taun-Taun, a sheep of legend, fabled to have once saved an Ahch-To tribe leader during a blizzard. The ancient costumes Luke provided were cheesy and reeked of moth balls from months of storage. At least he didn’t have to wear them anymore.

In the first performance, Rey’s scouts recount the tale of how the Ewoks protected the Ahch-To village from invading soldiers, proving that size doesn’t matter. Rey, having gotten into the spirit of the play, had used face paint to make her nose to look like that of a bear just like her scouts on stage. Ben couldn’t help but wonder if she had always had the dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks, never having noticed them before, as he visibly scrutinized her as she sat with the rest of the counselors in the front row. Rey whistles and cheers as her scouts gave their bows, several of the campers still acting in character as they raced back to their seats, growling with their hands curled into fists like paws.

Hux’s cabin was up next. A quiet boy named D.J. stepped up to center stage and began to narrate the opening scene, slightly stuttering as he did so.

“Th-th-th-this is…. The story uh-uh-uh-of the Bantha. The Ahch-To Legendary… B-b-bison.” D.J. recited.

Rey cheers for D.J. the loudest, next to Luke and his enthusiastic clapping. D.J. leaves the stage looking flustered yet pleased as his fellow cabin mates take to the stage in what could only be described as giant brown sleeping bags with Paper Mache horns that had seen better days. Hux is mouthing along with the script, looking agitated each time a camper flubs their line. He still politely claps for them when the performance is over. As Ben’s scouts file on the stage in, he finds himself sitting up straighter - a sense of pride rising within him.

“Presenting! The legend of Taun-Taun!” camper Silas announces to the audience before moving to the side as others move forward.

“Oh no. It is winter and we have no food.” Todd deadpans. 

Ben wishes he could face palm right about now.

“What will we do without food?” chimes in Mickey. “Without it, we shall starve.”

“I will go and search for food.” Ty speaks up as he steps towards the edge of the stage. He is wearing a Native American headdress made with construction paper and faux feathers.

“But you are our Chief! We need you here in the village.” Mickey protests.

“That is precisely why I must go. I will return once I have found enough food for our tribe.” Ty declares.

Rey holds her hands over her heart, captivated at how brave Ty is on the stage. She leans to her right and whispers to Ben. “Whose decision was it to give Ty the role of the Chief?”

Ben purses his lips before deciding to answer. “I did.” He whispers back.

“Oh.” She replies softly, smiling to herself as she returns to watching the campers as they mock shiver in the background as Ty tromps back and forth across the stage, acting out his search for food. “Did you do this when you were a camper here?” Rey whispers again.

Ben’s head whips in her direction. “Who told you that?” He hisses. “Did you see pictures?”

Rey’s face splits into a grin in the glow of the firelight. “There are pictures!?”

“No.” Ben lies, turning back to the stage, stone-faced.

“Alas! I am cold and lost! My tribe will surely not make it through this winter if I don’t return with this food.” Ty recites as he lies down defeated on the stage, curling up and beginning to shiver.

“Baaa! Baaaa!!!” shouts a camper named Dominic as he gallops on stage in a ridiculous grey wool jumpsuit with horns even worse for the wear than the ones from the Bantha costumes.

“My name is Taun-Taun and I am here to save you!” Dominic says to Ty, helping him up off the stage floor. “I can help guide you home and my wool will keep you warm!”

“My tribe will be saved!” Ty shouts and his cabin mates begin to cheer and celebrate in the background.

At the conclusion of the play, Rey stands up to give a standing ovation. She whistles so loud that it pierces Ben’s ear. She reaches out her palm for high fives for the campers as they exit the stage. She beams at Ty and tells him what a great job he did. He smiles up at her before looking up at Ben, the look on his face apprehensive. Ben gives Ty a half smile.

“You did good, kid.” He tells him.

Ty smiles shyly and looks away as he follows the rest of his cabin mates. Before following suit Ben looks over his shoulder at Rey, catching the curious look she is giving him. She smiles softly at him before turning away to gather up her scouts and lead them back to their cabin for the night.

^^^^^

That evening Rey finds herself digging into the many storage boxes that have been pushed to the back of the isolation cabin. There are boxes upon boxes of old paperwork of campers from years past. They probably should have been better stored, but given the state of Luke’s office she isn’t exactly surprised at this. She clenches the handle of the flashlight tight in her hand as she removes one heavy box from on top of another. This one is filled with thick binders instead of manilla folders. She lifts one of the binders out of the box, a mischievous smile gracing her face in the dim light.

“Jackpot.” She whispers to herself as she dusts off the front cover of an old photo album dated from sixteen years ago. A glance at the dates of the other albums in the box reaches back another five years from the book in her hand.

She places the album back in the box before lugging it over to her bed where she proceeds to start from the beginning. The plastic of the ancient photo pages stick together and peel apart with a satisfying crackle with each turn of the page. The yellow dates time stamped at the bottom corner of the photos are a glaring reminder of just how old the photos are. Rey smiles as she sees a much younger Luke standing proudly beneath the entryway arch, a freshly painted Padawan Scouts sign in his hands as he prepares to hang it up. She easily recognizes the bus driver Chewie as he towers over Luke in another photo as the two of them stand in front of the mess hall, his hair just as long and scraggy then as it is now.

She turns to the next page. It’s filled with snapshots of Lake Skellig, the opposite shore void of the public cabins that have been built since. Young boys are pictured racing along the sands in very simplistic camp shirts with only the camp name on them. In the other photos boys are cheesing for the camera as they sit in the canoe, Luke at the helm with a paddle.

Another crinkle of stuck pages later, Rey finds herself grinning like an idiot at the group photo plastered in the center. Luke stands at the back of the group of about a dozen boys, his prosthetic hand resting on the shoulder of a _much_ younger Ben. His smile tight and his eyes are slightly squinty but it is unmistakably him. She flips through the rest of the album in a personal game of ‘Spot Ben’. He’s there again two pages over in the mess hall with the other campers with his lunch tray in front of him, his attention pulled away from the camera, most likely chatting with a fellow camper when the photo was snapped.

Rey finishes the first book and grabs another. And another. Over the years his smiles seem to fade, leading Rey to wonder what it was that turned the smiling boy from a few years prior to the stern man she knew today. In the middle of the last book are the photos of what she suspects to be the first of the performances that had been enacted just hours ago. The costumes in the pictures are fresh and new. Two boys are enacting a scene from the Bantha play in a few of the photos. She turns the page and stops, taken aback by what she sees. It’s Ben, center stage and awash in the flash of the camera as he plays the role of the Chief from the story of Taun-Taun.

‘Curious’ she thinks to herself. She reaches out a finger traces the edge of the photo, smiling at the thought that there just might be some good in Ben after all.

^^^^^

The next week consists of two themes, serenity and harmony. The campers spend their time learning the calming methods of meditation and tai-chi. But just like clockwork, the campers had begun to crack as the weeks went by.

It was another Saturday where the scouts had free reign of the campgrounds. Rey had joined some of her campers in a game of kickball, racing around a makeshift playing field where Frisbees were used as the bases. Artie groans in frustration as Rey makes it to the first Frisbee before he can count her as out. B.B. cheers from the center of the field, arms pumping in celebration. Dion and Ty sit on the porch of the blue teams cabin, playing with dominos from a tin brought down from the mess hall’s game closet.

There are shrieks of laughter and shouts echoing across the mountains. It takes a moment for Rey to realize that some of the shouting has become riddled with anger, followed by the distinct ‘thwack’ of a thrown punch.

“Time out!” Rey yells to her campers, signaling to them as she makes a ‘T’ sign with both her hands. She rushes past B.B. on the kickers mound towards a small gathering of boys currently scrapping in the dirt just outside the blue cabin right in front of Ty and Dion.

“Hey! HEY! Knock it off!” She shouts, scattering some of the campers who were standing around watching. She spies Easton on the ground throwing punches at Trevor who is pinned below him fighting back. She reaches down to pull Easton from the scuffle but a large shadow looms over her and pries the two boys apart before she has a chance to. She straightens, blowing her loose hair from her face, to see who has stepped in to help.

Ben is standing there, arm muscles bulging as he holds the two boys back by their shoulders, his face red with anger. His hair is disheveled from rushing over and his jaw is clenched tight, lips pursed. Easton has blood trailing from his lip. 

“Where’s your counselor?” Ben asks Trevor. Trevor, covered in dirt and breathing heavy, turns his head and glares in the direction of his cabin. Hux is fast asleep in an Adirondack chair on the red cabins porch, slightly snoring. 

“HUX!” Ben barks.

Hux startles awake, the book that had been lying on his sleeping chest falling to the floor. “Huh? What?” He sleepily asks, rubbing at his eyes. He takes one look at Ben and the forming crowd and is over in a flash.

“All right, what happened?” Ben asks the boys firmly.

“He started it!” Finn pipes up from the crowd of campers and points at Trevor.

“Traitor!” Trevor snaps at Finn.

“He was making fun of D.J.” Easton says, wiping at this mouth and spitting into the dirt. “Calling him names, teasing him about his stutter.”

“Is this true?” Ben asks Trevor. Trevor just crosses his arms and looks away.

“We don’t tolerate bullying here at Padawan Scouts. You know better.” Ben scolds.

“Yes Master Ben.” Trevor grumbles begrudgingly.

“Take them up to Luke.” Ben instructs Hux and Rey, nodding his head towards the mess hall.

“Come on Easton.” Rey says sternly to her scout as she takes him by the shoulders and leads him after Hux and Trevor towards the mess hall.

Ben watches them leave, surprisingly impressed that Rey wasn’t fawning all over Easton and his injury. He turns to the lingering campers, glaring at them. “Back to your activities!” He orders and the campers scatter. Ben observes the surroundings as the campers return to their play and spots Dion with a comforting hand on Ty’s shoulder as he sits huddled on the steps of his cabin. Ben frowns before making his way over to them.

“Hey Dion, can have I a minute with Ty?” Ben asks Dion. Dion just nods to him and gives Ty a reassuring smile before heading over to replace Rey in his cabins game of kickball.

Ty is hugging his knees to his chest and his breathing is slightly labored. Ben sits next him on the steps of the cabin, giving Ty time to calm down.

“That was scary, wasn’t it?” Ben softly asks Ty after a moment. Ty eventually nods, his arms beginning to relax around his knees.

“Don’t worry. They’re both going to be fine.”

“But Easton was bleeding.” Ty mumbles into his wrists.

“Rey will take care of him.” Ben assures him.

Ty just looks out with sad eyes at the other campers as they run around carefree. “I wish I was in Master Rey’s cabin.” Ty mutters. 

Ben frowns at the admission, his feelings slightly hurt. “What makes you say that?”

“She’s really nice… And pretty. She cares about all of us. She reminds me of my mom… I miss her.”

Ben considers what Ty says. Rey certainly has integrated herself into the camp better than he had expected. His original protests about her having slowly washed away as the weeks went by. Funny how it took one of his campers to make him realize just how wrong he had been about her.

“Yeah…” Ben slowly admits. “I guess I wouldn’t mind being in her cabin either.”

Ben feels guilty that night for wrapping Rey’s stolen panties around his cock as he jerks himself off underneath the covers.

^^^^^

The new week starts with a trip across the lake to a nearby ropes course for the theme of ‘balance’. Hux sits up front behind Chewie, looking a bit green in the gills over Chewie’s driving skills as he tackles the winding turns of the mountain road with the attitude of Vin Diesel in a ‘Fast and Furious’ film. The scouts act as if they are on a roller coaster, raising their hands in the bus and cheering as they sway in their seats during the turns. Rey starts her campers in singing ‘The Little Green Frog’ and soon the entire bus is joining in, save for Ben and Hux.

Hux tries to squeeze one more prank in on Rey as they clip themselves into their harnesses for the ropes course. What Hux hadn’t counted on was that Rey had been rock climbing before at the University gym and therefore noticed her carabiner had been hooked improperly through her pants loop instead of the harness and therefore was able to adjust it before assisting the scouts with their ascent through the course.

A few mindful speeches from Luke about balance and one session of trust falls later, the scouts were back on the bus and headed back to camp for dinner. Dark clouds hang ominously on the horizon and Luke comments to Mitaka that tonight’s campfire may be cut short due to the impending storm. Sure enough, the rain begins to roll in just as Luke is finishing up the story of the legendary monster of Lake Skellig, known as the Sando. The scouts race through the rain towards their cabins for the night with shrieks of laughter, a few of the boys jumping in newly formed puddles as they go.

“All right Padawans! Teeth all brushed?” Rey asks her campers as she stands in the doorway of the yellow teams cabin. The sound of rain on the cabin roof echoes with each drop as the boys flit about the cabin, readying themselves for bed.

“Yes Master Rey!” The boys reply in unison as they make their way towards their respective beds.

“That’s what I like to hear!” she praises. “Now get into bed! It’s almost time for lights out.” She announces.

As if on cue, the overhead light inside the cabin flickers and dies as a clap of thunder hits just outside. There are some mild shrieks from the scouts at the sudden intrusion of darkness.

“Calm down!” Rey assures the campers as she reaches for her flashlight attached to her belt loop. She flicks it on and scans around the cabin, observing their wide eyed faces staring back at her.

“Master Rey; when you said ‘lights out’, this isn’t what we meant.” chides B.B.. A few more flashlights come on behind her as Rey peers out the cabin windows.

“Look’s like the power is out across the campsite.” She comments, noting how the overhead spotlight that overlooks all three cabins has also gone dark amid the storm. She turns back to the campers.

“Well, looks like I’m not going outside anytime soon.” She sighs as she turns back from the window. “How about we have one more campfire story while we wait for the storm to die down, hmm?”

The boys murmur in agreement and they all shuffle to the foots of their bunks while Rey situates herself on the floor in a cross-legged position.

“Can you make it a scary one Master Rey?” one of the campers asks.

“You mean scarier than Master Skywalker’s story of the Sando monster?” Rey asks, holding her flashlight beneath her chin, making the light cast an eerie glow across her face.

“Yeah! Yeah!” The cabin agrees, bouncing with anticipation.

“Okay, okay.” Rey laughs. She pauses thoughtfully while she tries to think of a scary enough campfire tale to tell. “All right. How about this?” She clears her throat. “There once was a man who had everything. A loving wife. A nice house. A sweet sports car. Until one day, that all changed. First - his wife died. As her last dying wish she purchased her husband puppy, so that he wouldn’t be lonely ever again.”

“This doesn’t sound like a scary story Master Rey.” Easton interrupts.

“I’m getting there!” Rey says. “So the man goes out to buy supplies for his new puppy. On the way home he sees some shady looking guys at a gas station. One of these men offers to buy the sports car. The first man says the car is not for sale. Angry at the rejection of the offer, the group of bad men tracked down the man with the sports car. They break into his house, beat him up, kill his dog, and steal the car. Angered that his wife’s last gift to him and his beloved car are now gone, the man is then transformed into a ruthless killer known as…” Rey pauses for dramatic effect. “Baba Yaga: the BOOGEYMAN!”

One of the scouts gasps and they all lean in closer to hear the rest of the story. 

“The Boogeyman begins to hunt down the men that hurt him and his dog one by one. And one by one, none of this victims saw him coming to kill them. He even killed three men at the same time…. With a PENCIL!”

“You can’t kill someone with a pencil.” Easton scoffs.

“No, it’s true! I saw ‘The Dark Knight’ once.” says B.B.

There is a flash of lightning and a crack of thunder outside immediately followed by a loud ‘bang’ on the door. 

“It’s the Baba Yaga!” Artie cries out in a panic.

The boys scream as the cabin door swings open, the knob slamming against the wall. Wind and rain blow inside, partially shielded by the massive shadow that lurks in the doorway.

Rey aims her flashlight at the door, revealing the soaking wet form of Ben. Rain drops dot his t-shirt as he shakes out the umbrella that he holds in one hand, a heavy duty flashlight in the other.

“It’s all right, Padawans. It’s just Master Ben.” Rey says as she gets to her feet.

“Power’s out across the camp.” Ben huffs almost breathlessly.

Rey looks around the darkened cabin and turns back to Ben, a smirk on her face. “Yeah, we kind of figured.”

“You didn’t check in at the mess hall.” Ben follows up. 

He almost sounds worried. Rey bites her lip. “I was trying to wait for the storm to let up.”

“Oh.” He says, exhaling deeply.

“Scouts, why don’t we pick up with the story another night?” Rey says to the campers. They whine in protest. “No, no. You’ve had enough excitement for one night. It’s about time you go to bed.” She explains. “Goodnight boys!”

“Goodnight Master Rey.” the cabin responds as Rey follows Ben out onto the porch, shutting the door firmly behind her.

“You didn’t check in.” Ben repeats to her almost immediately. The rain pours off the porch awning overhead, dripping steadily into the dirt while another rumble of thunder groans in the distance.

“Like I said, I was waiting for the rain to ease up.” Rey says, fiddling with the strap of her flashlight around her wrist.

“By doing what exactly?”

“Telling scary stories.”

“Such as?”

“Summarizing ‘John Wick’.”

“Oh.” Ben says again.

It is quiet between them for a moment.

“So… What?” Rey asks with a shrug “You thought something happened with my campers?”

Ben doesn’t answer.

“I can handle my campers just fine, thanks.” Rey huffs at his silence.

“I was worried about you.” Ben blurts out.

Taken aback, Rey pauses. “I thought I already made it clear to you that I’m a very capable, independent individual.”

“I know.” Ben says, running a hand through his damp hair. “You did… But I….” He looks out at the pouring rain as another bolt of lightning crosses the night sky. “Can I just make sure you get back to your cabin safely? We’ve had flash floods before.”

Rey eyes Ben warily as he stands barely a foot away from her, his brown eyes practically pleading with her in the shine of her flashlight. “Okay, fine.” She agrees.

^^^^^

She steps out off the porch and Ben is right behind her with the umbrella. The wind is blowing so hard the umbrella is nearly pointless, but Rey still appreciates his effort. Puddles are already forming on the hill leading towards the isolation cabin and Rey finds herself sliding just a little as the ground softens beneath her feet. The lantern that hangs outside the door of the isolation cabin is dark, a reminder of the lack of power. Rey climbs the steps to the porch and Ben follows with the dripping umbrella.

“Thanks, I guess.” Rey says to him, reaching for the door handle.

“What did you mean that night when you said that you really hoped that I would have understood you?” Ben blurts out again before she has a chance to head inside.

Rey turns back to him and crosses her arms as she stares him down. “Really? You want to do this now?” She asks. Ben swallows thickly before nodding. “Fine.” Rey says, throwing her arms up in defeat. “I thought you were different. I thought you were kind, like your Uncle. That you wouldn’t have cared that I was woman. I thought you had a heart. I thought…” Rey trails off and sighs. 

“I found the photo albums, Ben.” She tells him. Ben stares back at her, almost afraid of what she might have to say next. “You looked so happy when you were younger…. What happened?”

Ben swallows deeply again, his eyes sad in the dim light of their flashlights. “My parents sent me to the Padawan Scouts because they knew I had anger issues. Year after year I would come back here and eventually I… I began to feel like they didn’t want me around because of all the trouble my outbursts would cause them. They didn’t want to deal with my problems so they continued to send me here to be rid of me, pawning me off to my Uncle.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Rey says, shaking her head at him.

“They didn’t bother to get to know the new me. This camp has changed me, yet they still see me as that angry little boy. This job is the only time where I feel I matter because I can be of help to someone, and I was afraid you would take that away from me.” Thunder cracks in the woods behind the cabin in the silence before Ben continues. “I was wrong about you, Rey.” Ben says, shaking his head at her. “You’ve been great with the kids. They all look up to you. You make them feel safe. It’s…. It’s good a thing my Uncle hired you. I just didn’t want to see it because I was… I was…”

“Because you were what?” Rey whispers.

“Jealous.” He answers. “My Uncle is a stickler for rules. For him to hire you, that must have meant there was something special about you, not just some mistake with the wanted ad. And I was angry because all the campers just seemed to gravitate to you. Everyone just thinks I’m grumpy and mean all the time, but really I’m not. I want the scouts to know that they can overcome whatever hurdles they are facing, that they aren’t alone in this world. Because I was once like them.” Ben hangs his head, almost ashamed for revealing his personal struggles. Rain patters around them, bouncing off the leaves of the trees that surround the isolation cabin. 

“I know what that’s like.” Rey whispers to Ben, taking a step closer to him. The rain drips off the edges of the umbrella he still holds over her head. “To feel alone. To feel like no one else knows what you’re going through. It’s why I pushed myself through school these last couple years. I want to be there for a child that’s out there struggling. Because I too was once just like them. Alone.”

“You’re not alone though.” Ben tells her. “Not now.”

“No.” Rey says, smiling a little up at him as she shakes her head. “And neither are you.”

She thinks Ben may be blushing as he looks down and away from her for a moment. “I’m glad to consider the Padawan Scouts as a part of my family.” She tells him. She reaches out her hand to grip at the umbrella he holds, her hand resting just above his. “That includes you.”

Ben looks down where her hand clutches the umbrella stem and gently allows his thumb to reach up to brush at her wrist. Rey feels her breath hitch in her throat at his touch. “It also didn’t help my jealousy with how pretty you are.” He confesses quietly with a sheepish smile. “Who wouldn’t want you as their camp counselor? Even Ty wishes you were in his cabin and not mine.”

Rey blushes at this, her heartbeat racing. “Really? He said that?” Ben nods his head. Rey smiles bashfully. “He’s a good kid.” She muses as she looks up at Ben. He’s avoiding her gaze as he watches his thumb trail lazy swipes across her wrist. “I thought you were cute too. Which is why it hurt so much when you were an ass to me.” She admits with a light laugh. “I thought you hated me.”

“I couldn’t hate you.” Ben says, shaking his head again, droplets of water splashing to the side.

“Seems we were both wrong about each other.” Rey says, allowing herself to close the distance between the two of them, still huddled under the dripping umbrella. “But I’d like to get to know you. The _real_ you. If you’d let me.”

Lightning strikes nearby, illuminating the porch in a flash of light as Rey reaches up and curls a hand around the back of Ben’s neck, bringing his face down to meet hers and meeting his lips with hers in a determined kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s an updated ‘who’s who’ of the scouts:
> 
> D.J. - obviously named after D.J. from ‘The Last Jedi’  
> Dominic - named after the word 'Dominion' which is another word for 'Supremacy', Snoke's starship  
> Silas - named after Ben’s starship, Silencer  
> Trevor - sounds a bit like ‘traitor’, aka Stormtrooper TR-8R
> 
> Lastly, here is the link to the Spotify play list:  
> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3HYdfkDNakA4necQXVAq8y?si=EsXfuvGQSM6A5loBlb_4WQ


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peeks around corner and hangs head in shame* Yes, I'm still here.
> 
> Sorry this was so delayed in getting completed. My list of excuses includes, but is not limited to: depression, returning to work, homeschooling, and the introduction of a new computer and a new keyboard to get used to typing on (i wanted to hit backspace, not print!).
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this story thus far and most importantly, I have finally delivered on the promise of smut.
> 
> You're welcome.

^^^^^

Wonder of wonders, Rey was kissing him. Him! After how he had treated her, she had forgiven him and was actually kissing him!

  
He could have stayed there forever, her lips pressed firmly against his, a cushion of soft and warmth. Her hand is curled into the wet hair at the back of his neck. In one hand he is still clumsily clutching the umbrella, the other having wrapped itself around her slim waist, his flashlight resting at her back. A crack of lightning followed by the sound of a branch breaking somewhere amongst the trees jolts them apart.

  
“We should go inside.” She says as her hand slides away. He instantly misses the contact. He dumbly nods at her as she reaches for the door handle and enters the cabin. He follows, shining the light of the flashlight after her. She flicks the light switch as Ben shuts the door. “Oh. Right.” She laughs nervously at her mistake. “Power’s out. She hurries to the bedside table and turns on a camping lantern, twisting the dial until the cabin is dimly lit in a yellow glow.

  
Ben sets his flashlight on the opposite bedside table before pausing to take a good look around the cabin. It has become more lived in since his initial visit with Hux on the first day of camp. Some of her clothes are draped about and the scent of her strawberry body wash has taken over the smell of moth balls. His eyes fall on the stacks of cardboard boxes she has pulled out, a single album laying on the lid.

“Wow. You weren’t kidding about the albums.” He comments to her as she rounds the other side of the bed, retrieving a towel from her duffel bag that is perched on a camping chair.

  
“They were quite a blast from the past.” She says as she begins to wring out her hair into the towel. She walks up next to him as he lets a hand rest on the cover of the album, as if he is afraid to open it up and see the contents.

  
She offers him the towel and he mutters his thanks. She nods at him and goes to prop open the umbrella he left by the door so that it has a chance to dry. The rain continues to drum loudly against the roof of the cabin but luckily, she cannot spot any leaks.

  
Ben hastily rubs the towel Rey provided him against his hair, trying hard not to breathe in too deeply at the lingering scent of her that clings to the towel. He runs his hands through his hair to smooth it back to how he likes and turns back to her, extending the towel.

  
She takes the towel back from him. “Do you think the campers are okay?” She asks as she drapes it over the iron footboard of the bed to dry. She settles in on top of the bed, crossing her legs and folding her hands in her lap.

  
“It’s a thunderstorm. They will be fine. Not much they can do without power anyways.” Ben answers with a shrug. He glances out the window next to the door, rain still slashing heavily against the glass. He looks back at Rey. “I should probably wait it out a while.”

  
Rey blushes, her cheeks flushing pink as she avoids his gaze. “Yes… You probably should.”

  
He heads over to the bed and nervously sits at the edge. The mattress springs squeak from his weight. He gingerly runs a finger along the quilt that lays haphazardly folded behind him. “It was nice of my Uncle to set up his old bed for you.”

  
Rey scoots closer to him. “It was.” She says. They are sitting shoulder to shoulder now. Rey reaches over to grasp at one of Ben’s hands, entwining their fingers together. He looks down at their clasped hands and then back up at her. Her hair has already begun to dry, slightly curling into soft waves that frame her face.

  
She raises her free hand reaches for the side of his face, aiming to tuck a portion of Ben’s hair behind one of his ears. He leans slightly away at the motion, unsure. “What are you doing?” He asks her.

  
“Your ears. I want to see them.” She says. He attempts to brush her hand away, but she just laughs as she playfully swats it back. “I’ve seen the pictures Ben, don’t try to hide them!”

  
“I hate them.” He nearly growls as she brushes back the damp strands that shield his right ear.

  
“I think they’re adorable.” She says, letting her fingers brush at the shell of his ear. He suppresses a shudder at her touch. She is even closer now, their faces inches apart. She stares into his eyes, his gaze full of curiosity with a flicker of fear. “Now, where were we?” She purrs.

  
She is kissing him again. She is surer of herself this time and so is he. She cradles his face between her hands, and he finds himself pulling her to his lap, her knees crushing into the quilt as she straddles him. Their kissing becomes more fervent, especially as his hands wander down her spine and over the curve of her backside, his fingers digging into the damp denim fabric.

  
He is not exactly sure who is the one moaning as she opens her mouth for him. Is it her? Is it him? She tastes like the sugary sweetness of the s’mores they had during tonight’s bonfire. He is beginning to harden, and he can already tell he is going to have a hard time forgetting this moment the next time Luke busts out the summertime staple of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows.

  
Ben feels his head hit the mattress, suddenly realizing that he has fallen backwards with Rey still straddling on top of him. The mattress squeaks again with their combined weight. Rey sits up, breaking their kiss. He instinctively leans forward, chasing her.

  
Rey grasps at the hem of her dark green Padawan Scouts tee and hefts it effortlessly over her head, tossing it aside. It sounds like it lands somewhere among the album boxes, but Ben does not have time to pay attention to the shirt’s exact whereabouts right now. Feeling his eyes widen, he knows he must look like a high school virgin as he stares up at her half-clothed chest. Even with the tame heather gray bra that she wears, being up close to her breasts is ten, no – a thousand times better than seeing her in her bikini top that day down at the lake.

  
“Is…. Is this okay?” Rey nervously asks, afraid she has gone too far and misread this entire scenario completely. Her hands rest on his chest, his heart beating rapidly beneath her fingertips.

  
“Fuck yes!” Ben breathlessly laughs. “And you? I mean…. Are _you_ okay with this?”

  
She nods with no hesitation, biting her bottom lip as she stares down at him. She can feel his arousal twitch against her where she straddles his lap at her answer. “Yes. Yes I am.”

  
“Good.”

  
“Good.” She repeats. Her eyes narrow mischievously and she takes an opportunity to rotate her hips. “Because I remember how you looked at me that first day at the lake.”

  
“Shit.” Ben grits out between his teeth, getting impossibly harder by the second. “What made you think a bikini was appropriate swim attire for an all-boys camp?” He asks, his hands snaking up from her bottom to caress the soft skin of her exposed lower back.

  
“They haven’t hit puberty yet. Girls are still gross to them.” Rey replies with a shrug of one shoulder.

  
“I don’t think you’re gross.” Ben confesses. “Quite the opposite in fact.”

  
“Mmmm. I can tell.” Rey answers with a grin, rotating her hips again and grinding against his arousal.

  
This time the moan _definitely_ comes from him. Rey giggles at this, causing Ben to take matters into his own hands to even the playing field. He sits up the best he can with Rey still atop him to shed his own t-shirt. It lands somewhere even further back in the cabin and Rey giggles again as something obviously is struck and knocked over, mildly clattering against the wooden floor upon impact.

  
Rey can’t disguise the look of hunger she gives Ben’s bared chest, trailing greedy fingers over the planes of his abs. “I saw you looking at me that day too.” Ben says as he leans back against the bed.

“How could I not?” Rey laughs. “Look at you! Do you live in a gym?”

  
“Only on weekends. In the off season.” He clarifies. Rey raises an eyebrow at this and Ben chuckles. “I’m a personal trainer usually.”

  
“And on the other five days of the week?” Rey asks, letting her fingers dance down his chest towards the trail of dark hair peeking above the waistband of his shorts.

  
“I uh… Substitute for P.E. teachers in my local school district” He admits, slightly embarrassed.

  
“Really?” Rey grins. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  
“Not as surprising as this.” Ben replies, gesturing to their current position with a hand.

  
“A good surprise I hope.”

  
“Definitely.” Ben says with a smirk. “This was not how I imagined my summer would end.”

  
“Shh…” Rey tells him. “Enough talking.”

  
She silences him with a kiss. He does not complain. His hands work their way up to the back of her bra and he mentally sings her praises as her delicate hands leave his body to assist his thick, clumsy fingers in removing the piece of clothing.

  
The thunder outside booms loudly, lightly rattling the windowpanes. Ben hopes it disguises how fast and loud his heart is beating right now as he reaches up to cup both of Rey’s breasts in his hands. She keens at his touch, arching her back and leaning her head back, a gasp of ecstasy escaping her parted lips. While small, their fit is perfect for his hands, her rosy nipples pebbling against his palms.

  
She draws in a sharp breath as Ben teases one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. One of her hands claws at his bicep as he leans forward, bringing the other breast to his mouth and lightly sucking on the other nipple into his mouth. She moans his name as he releases her breast with a wet pop and lavishing the other with the same attention.

  
Lightning and thunder crack outside, the storm still in full force. But this is nothing in comparison to the strew brewing inside the cabin. In a flurry of hands and clothes, Rey is stripped of her shorts and shoes. Ben’s boots thud against the door followed by his socks, which he hopes Rey did not get a whiff of as they went sailing past her in their hasty removal.

  
They are in just their underwear now, with Ben on top of Rey as she lies with her arms above her head on the pillows. Ben’s arousal is threatening to pop from its confines in his boxer briefs.

  
“I uh….” Ben begins, looking sheepishly down at her. “Didn’t come prepared for uh…. This.”

  
“Oh…” Rey breathes, her bare chest rising and falling rapidly as she considers his words. “Well, um…” She trails off.

  
Before she can even come up with a response, Ben is lowering his mouth to hers and stealing a delicate kiss. He props himself up with his left arm, muscles bulging and his massive hand sinking into the mattress. “May I?” He asks, his deep voice both soft and dangerous at the same time. His free hand strokes down her side, giving her goosebumps as his slightly calloused fingers trace the slight curve of her hips.

  
She nods before whispering ‘yes’, just as his fingers reach the top of her lace trimmed panties. He outlines the shape of her womanhood through the damp fabric with two fingers before dipping them under the lining towards her core.

  
Rey jolts and for a moment he thinks he has gone too far. She is as soaked as they were when they first kissed on the porch. He teases her entrance with the tips of his fingers, and she is already bowing off the mattress at his touch.

  
He gently kisses at the interior of her thighs as he slowly works her underwear down, her long legs extending with the grace of a ballerina so he can fully remove them. He pushes up on his arm and leans down to kiss her as his hand strokes her wet folds, fingers slipping in and out at an enticing pace. Rey groans into his mouth, her hands grasping at his shoulders, pulling at the hair at the nape of his neck as his thick fingers curl inwards and upwards into her slick core.

  
Ben is beginning to pant above her, the scent of her arousal permeating the humid air of the cabin. The lewd sounds coming from her mouth and her soaked cunt are becoming too much. He can feel Rey’s inner walls tighten around his fingers and he knows his own release is not too far behind.

  
“Rey…” Ben grunts. “I-…..”

  
“Ah! Ben!!! Ah!!!....” Rey gasps, her body keening below him, fists clutching at the quilt. “I’m close!”

  
“Come for me Rey.” Ben growls seductively, pushing his fingers even deeper inside her pulsing wetness.

  
She cries out his name and there is a sudden gush around his fingers, pushing his hand to retreat. He sits back and reaches for his boxers. Rey expects him to wipe off her orgasm off on the fabric but instead he pulls forth his full erection, angry red and throbbing with a drop of pre-cum fresh on the tip.

  
She sits up and reaches for his member, her hand barely able to wrap around the shaft. He sticks the fingers wet from her orgasm into his mouth and sucks them dry as Rey begins to pump his cock. He groans. “Shit, Rey… You’re so amazing… Am I dreaming?” He asks.

  
Rey laughs. “If we are, this is one hell of a dream.”

  
Ben’s chuckle of a reply is nearly choked from him as Rey descends her sweet lips over the tip of his cock. He grasps at her shoulder as her mouth takes more and more of him in and he can feel her reach her limit, releasing him with a wet pop and a gasp.

  
“Rey, you don’t- “

“I want to.” She tells him.

  
He nods, mouth agape at how lucky he is to have this gorgeous woman sucking on his hardened cock. She swirls her tongue on the underside of his tip and he practically comes right then.

  
“Lean back.” Ben grunts to her.

  
“Hmm?” Rey hums, looking up at him with her perfect lips still wrapped around his thick cock.

  
“Lean back.” He growls. “I’m going to cum on those perfect little tits of yours.”

  
Rey releases him and leans back on the bed. “Go ahead.” She challenges. “Mark me as yours.”

  
Ben bites down so hard on his lip he tastes blood as he takes his member in hand, pumping vigorously with his head thrown back. He takes a moment to look down at her. Rey is gazing up at him with lustful eyes while one her hands toys with her still wet folds.

  
“Fuck!” Ben groans as the first spurt of cum hits her on the belly, the drop of hot, white liquid dripping down her belly as other droplets join it.

  
He collapses next to her on the bed, the mattress springs groaning in protest. Rey reaches over to the footboard and grabs the towel draped there and proceeds to wipe the spend off her belly. She hands the towel to him and he wipes at his groin before tossing the towel to the side.

  
It is nearly quiet between save for their heavy breathing. Rey cuddles up to Ben’s side, pulling what she can of the quilt around her.

  
“I think the storm stopped.” She said, indicating the lack of thunder from outside.

  
Ben listens a moment. “It’s still raining.” He points out.

  
“You should probably stay here a little longer.”

  
“Oh yeah?”

  
“Yeah. You wouldn’t want to get caught in a flash flood or anything.” She says with a cheeky grin.

  
Ben smirks and gives a light laugh. “No. You’re right. It’s safer if I stay here.”

  
“Right. Safe.”

^^^^^

The sound of a bugle awakens Rey with a jolt. The morning call is blaring from the loudspeaker post outside, signaling that not only has the power been restored, but that it is time to begin the day.

  
Rey groans, stretching her arms and legs beneath the quilt. A strong arm reaches over and pulls her back towards the middle of the bed.

  
“Not yet.” Ben sleepily mumbles to her, nuzzling his nose against her neck before gently kissing her bare shoulder.

  
“But Ben… The ‘Reveille’. It’s time to get up.” Rey protests. She manages to free one leg out from under the quilt, but Ben pulls her back in with a low growl.

  
“I always hated that damn bugle.” He grumbles. “Luke would make me play it back when I was younger. Out on the top steps. Back before the intercom was installed.”

  
Rey turns over to face him, the mattress springs creaking. “He probably had you play because you’ve got such good lips for it.”

  
Ben slightly snorts. “Is that so?”

  
“Yes.” Rey says as she leans over to kiss him. “You have very nice lips.”

  
Ben groans as Rey pulls away. “I can show you exactly how good my lips are.” He threatens with a raise of one of his eyebrows.

  
Rey blushes. “There’s not time for that. We’ve got to check on the Padawans.” She says.

  
“I don’t want you to go.” Ben confesses to his pillow. Rey reaches over and brushes a strand of his sleep tousled hair from his eyes. He looks up at her with lonely eyes. “Last night was….”

  
“I know.” Rey whispers, leaning forward to press one more kiss to his lips. “I didn’t want it to end either.” She gently smiles down at him. “But the scouts are going to wonder where _you_ have been all night.”

  
She gets out of the bed and Ben watches her walk around naked as she gathers up the discarded clothing pieces from the night before. She tosses him his garments before digging through her duffel bag for fresh clothes.

  
“Shit! Where _are_ those?” She grumbles aloud to herself as she pokes around angrily in her bag.

  
“What are you looking for?” He asks as he rolls out the bed, the mattress sounding like it was on its last legs. He cracks his back, sore from the sinking mattress.

  
“My favorite lace panties.” Rey bemoans as she pulls out a cream-colored pair of underwear decorated with various flowers on them and slides them on. “I _know_ I packed them, but I haven’t found them for weeks.”

  
“Are they pink?” Ben asks as he pulls on his shorts and zips the fly.

  
Rey whirls on him as she is clasping her bra into place. “What did you do with my underwear?!” She screeches.

  
“It wasn’t me; it was Hux who took them!”

  
Rey’s mouth falls open in horror.

  
“He wanted to prank you by stringing them up the flagpole, you know – classic camp prank stuff. But I took them away from him before he could do anything.”

  
“You mean he’s the one who’s been pranking me all summer? Not you?”

  
“Scouts honor.” Ben says as he pulls his Padawans Scout tee over his head.

  
“That rat bastard!” Rey hisses, shaking her head as she grabs her hairbrush out of the duffel and begins combing out her tangles.

  
Ben stomps his feet down into his boots and adjusts the laces. “I ought to head out. Before anyone comes looking.” He tells her.

  
Rey nods as Ben approaches her. He takes his hand and gently strokes her cheek before pulling her in close and kissing her. “Can we do this again tonight?” He asks softly. “There’s only a few more days of camp left and I…. I still want to see you when this is all over.”

  
Rey blushes and reaches up to rest her hand against his. “I’d like that too.”

  
“I’ll bring you your underwear as well. Though… You might want to wash them first.”

  
Rey’s mouth falls open again in shock, but it quickly turns into a Cheshire grin.

  
“You’re such a dirty boy.” She purrs. “And I thought you were supposed to be a role model for these fine, young men!"

  
Ben can’t help but chuckle a bit. “They’ll understand one day.” Rey laughs at this and nods. “See you out there?”

  
She nods again at him before he departs without so much as a brief glance behind him.

  
His first stop is at the bathrooms. He wets his hair in the sink and rubs at his face with a rough paper towel. A few Scouts from Rey’s cabin make their way in and out of the bathroom as he slicks his hair back with wet hands. He stares down at his hands for a moment, recalling all the places they had been the night before. And what a night it had been. Ben exits the bathroom and promptly runs into Hux.

  
“THERE you are!” Hux loudly gasps with almost a sigh of relief. “Where _have_ you been?”

  
“I uh-“ ‘Think, dammit!’ “My Uncle had me stay up with him at the mess hall. Because of the storm and all.”

  
“Urgh.” Hux says, grimacing. “You poor man. Probably one of the worst nights of your life, am I right?”

  
Quite the opposite, actually.

  
“Come on then, your Scouts have been pestering me all morning.”

  
The boys from Ben’s cabin are gathered around the porch, some of them running up to him when they see him round the corner.

  
“Master Ben is alive!”

“See? I told you the storm didn’t get him.”

  
“Who told you that?” Ben asks Silas, the scout closest to him.

  
“Master Hux said you probably got swept away in a flood.”

  
Ben frowns and looks over at Hux who is in the process of lining up his scouts. Hux glances back and gives a half-assed apology shrug in response. Ben turns back to his scouts.

  
“Well, I’m fine. So line up for breakfast.”

  
“Yes Master Ben!” The scouts shout in unison.

  
Rey comes trotting down the hill, her hair pulled back up into her signature buns with a few damp pieces clinging to her neck. Her scouts rush towards her with shouts of delight. They smother her with hugs and bombard her with questions.

  
“Tell us what happened with the Baba Yaga, Master Rey!”

  
“Master Rey, were you scared of the storm?”

  
“Dion nearly wet himself!”

  
“Nuh-uh! _You_ were scared!”

  
“Calm down Padawans!” Rey said, as she ushered the boys together. “Let’s line up for mess hall and I can finish the story then.”

  
The boys cheered and proceeded to file together in a haphazard line as they made their way towards the mess hall. As they caught up to the others, Rey peeks over at Ben. She finds herself grinning at him like an idiot, and he shyly smiles back.

  
Once at the mess hall, Rey immediately goes up to Luke and explains her reasons for not reporting into him the night before.

  
“I hope you’re not upset.” Rey is saying to Luke as Ben hovers nearby, taking his time with the buffet line as he eavesdrops.

  
“Of course not!” Luke is saying to her. “Safety first after all. I trust that all my counselors know how to handle all sorts of emergencies, even minor ones.” Luke claps his prosthetic hand on her shoulder with a dull pat.

  
“Thank you, Master Luke.” Rey says to him before heading back to her table where her cabin is eagerly awaiting the conclusion of the tale of the Baba Yaga.

  
Ben tries to avoid his Uncle and make his way to his own cabins table when Luke clears his throat and steps in front of Ben’s path.

  
“So, Rey tells me you escorted her to her cabin last night in the storm.”

  
Ben swallows heavily, his hands clutching at his breakfast tray. “Yes.”

  
Luke studies him for a moment with a slight narrow of his eyes. “Well, it’s about time you two started getting along.” He sighs. “Only took to nearly the end camp, but I’m glad things are improving. It will just make next year all the better.”

  
“Next year?” Ben echoes.

  
“Yes. I’ve already extended the offer to Ms. Johnson that she is welcome to return next summer as a counselor, granted her schedule allows it.” Luke explains.

  
Ben’s heart skips a beat at this.

  
“That’s not a problem is it?” Luke asks.

  
Ben stares out past his Uncle into the mess hall where Rey is animatedly reenacting the final scenes of 'John Wick' with her plastic cutlery. He smiles.

  
“No. Not a problem at all.”

^^^^^

The final night at the campfire was the badge ceremony where the scouts were presented with patches they had earned.

B.B. earned his third-year badge, proudly accepting it from Luke on the stage in front of the bonfire. Rey stood and cheered the loudest for all her scouts. By the end of the night, she had nearly shouted herself hoarse as little Ty was awarded the Starbird badge, bestowed upon those who greatly encompass all the values of the Padawan scouts.

  
Following the final breakfast, Chewie and his bus were parked at the bottom of the hill waiting to take the scouts back. Luke and Mitaka assisted the counselors in packing everyone’s suitcases in the side storage compartments of the bus while the scouts clung together in their close-knit groups of friends and bade each other their summer farewells.

  
“All right Padawans!” Luke calls out, straightening as Ben slams the last compartment door shut. “Everyone back on the bus! Remember all you have learned this summer and keep your values with you!”

  
“Yes, Scout Master Skywalker!” The padawans chime together one last time.

  
Luke and the counselors lined up outside the doors of the bus. Luke, Mitaka, and Rey offered high fives and well wishes to the scouts as they boarded. Occasionally the line would get held up by one of the campers giving Rey a hug. Ben felt himself bristle as he stood next to her in line, trying to remind himself not to get jealous of children. Ty is the last of the scouts to board the bus.

  
“I hope I see you next year!” Rey says to him crouching down slightly to give the boy a tight hug.

  
“You will! And I better be in your cabin!” Ty says happily.

  
Rey laughs at this. “You better be!”

  
Ty looks up at Ben next.

  
“Glad you were in my cabin.” Ben says to Ty. Ty just nods as Ben sticks out a large hand for him to shake.

  
What occurred next was a surprise to everyone in line. Ty ignored the handshake and went straight in for a hug, his little arms held tight around Ben’s hips and his head digging into his stomach.

  
“Thank you, Master Ben.” Ty whispers.

  
“You’re welcome.” Ben manages to whisper back.

  
“All right Ty. On the bus.” Luke says, interrupting the moment with a beckoning hand.

  
Ty hops on the bus and scurries to a seat his friends have saved for him. Mitaka salutes a goodbye to Luke and counselors, entering the bus so he can return home as well. Chewie honks the horn as the bus turns in a wide circle and drives off down the hill and through the archway.

  
“I’m proud of you.” Luke says to Ben, putting his hand on his shoulder and squeezing.

  
Ben nods to his Uncle. Luke winks at him before turning and walking back up towards the mess hall.

  
“See you next summer.” Hux says to Ben. He turns to Rey. “And you as well, I suppose.”

  
Rey nods. “Wouldn’t miss it. After all, I’ve got some pranks to payback.” She grins.

  
Hux sputters speechless before angrily storming up the hill after Luke, grumbling to himself and no doubt cursing Rey.

  
Ben turns to Rey, the two of them left in the settling dust kicked up from the bus.

  
“Did you… Did you need a ride back home?” Ben nervously asks her

  
“Are you asking if you can drive me home?” Rey laughs.

“The only cars here are mine, Hux, and my Uncles. Did Luke drive you here?”

  
“No, I rode here myself.” She pauses. “The motorcycle?” She adds.

“That’s yours? I thought it was Chewie’s!”

  
Rey shakes her head. “Nope. That’s mine.”

  
“I shouldn’t be surprised." He quips with a shake of his head. "This summer has been full of them.”

“Yes….” Rey says, reaching up and linking her arms around Ben’s neck and pulling him down to meet her in a sweet kiss. “But you’re my favorite one.”

^^^^^

~ The End ~


End file.
